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Author Topic: The Boardgame Thread  (Read 585299 times)
Shannow
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Reply #2485 on: December 05, 2017, 06:08:21 AM

Still waiting in SEA for my KS copy of a Gloomhaven.  Checking KS it looks like the usual round of shitty logistics by shitty Fun Again Games.  
Mine came in the bay area a few weeks ago...

In other news, Betrayal at House on the Hill: Legacy by Daviau in Q4 2018

http://www.dicetowernews.com/wizards-of-the-coast-and-rob-daviau-announce-betrayal-legacy


Never played this, then I saw a friend playing Betrayal at Baldurs Gate. Baldurs triggers me (in a good way) so is it worth picking up?

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jgsugden
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Reply #2486 on: December 05, 2017, 03:24:25 PM

I have not played Baldur's yet, but I hear that the mechanics there are improved over Betrayal at the House on the Hill (BaHotH). 

I think this is one of those hit or miss games.  In some of my gaming circles, BatHotH is the most requested game, especially when you have 6 players.  In others, it is loathed for randomness and dislike of the theme.  BatHotH lives on my 'most played' shelf for easy and often access.

I recommend going to a FLGS with a play area and seeing if you can get your hands on a store copy to play (of either Betrayal game).  One game will tell you whether it is a hit or miss.

My shelf of most played games I own:

Blood Rage
Power Grid
Terraforming Mars
Eclipse
Betrayal
7 Wonders Dual
Lost Cities
Lords of Waterdeep
Ticket to Ride
Small World
Dixit
King of Tokyo / NY
Kingdomino
Settlers of Catan
Ingenious
Rampage

2020 will be the year I gave up all hope.
Soln
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Reply #2487 on: December 05, 2017, 10:51:38 PM

What do you think of Eclipse?  I've heard Exodus: Proxima Centauri is interesting and similar?
jgsugden
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Reply #2488 on: December 06, 2017, 08:47:26 AM

What do you think of Eclipse?  I've heard Exodus: Proxima Centauri is interesting and similar?
I have not played Exodus, so I can't say there. [Edit: You got me curious, so this is on order.  I'll let you know once I've played it, but the lack of exploration is a known downer for me.]

I like Eclipse a lot, but I would not buy it now.  A 2nd edition is coming in 2018, and there is an out of print expansion that really improves the game that is hard to get now.  It is also a really huge box - which is a pain for storage purposes.

The game essentially boils down to building your race up through exploration and research (Eurofeel) and then deciding around the midpoint of the game if you can push for the win by continuing to build yourself up, or if you have to go for the win by taking other players down via combat (Ameritrash feel).  With a lot of players, you can end up, through luck of the draw, never having a chance to win - or having a mistake by another player really hurt *your chances to win* as much as theirs.  Accordingly, once you know what you're doing, it can be frustrating to play with new players.

If you have a FLGS with store copies to play, I suggest watch a 'how to' video with friends and trying it at a store before buying it - and then only buying it if you all like it and want to play it together.  
« Last Edit: December 27, 2017, 08:59:10 AM by jgsugden »

2020 will be the year I gave up all hope.
jgsugden
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Reply #2489 on: December 06, 2017, 09:04:10 AM

Also - Pandemic Season 2 Report: We just completed April.  We have two completed recons and opened 3 of the 8 boxes, so the below is based upon incomplete information and may change over time as my group slowly wraps up.

This is a very solid game, but not as good as Season 1.  There are some huge swings to the difficulty of the game - some of which are likely to happen at a particular time, but others seem to be fairly random (could be February - could be June) and will have a huge impact on how you play the game.  This makes it even less replayable than Season 1 - if you remember how to generate the huge twists, you'd have an incentive to angle to them early.

Right now, I think this will make the top 25 or so on BGG, but will not get to the top like Season 1 did.

Update: Just finished June.  We're still enjoying the game, but it continues to be a lesser cousin to the original Pandemic Legacy.  

Update 2: Finished August.  Still worth playing, still not spectacular.

« Last Edit: January 14, 2018, 02:24:24 PM by jgsugden »

2020 will be the year I gave up all hope.
schild
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Reply #2490 on: December 07, 2017, 06:05:37 PM

Ordered the Gallerist with the Kickstarter stuff. Came out to like $80 and change. Fine. I can live with this.
« Last Edit: December 07, 2017, 06:14:25 PM by schild »
Riggswolfe
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Reply #2491 on: December 10, 2017, 01:08:58 PM

Picked up the Fallout Boardgame. It's 1-4 players and for a Fantasy Flight game it is surprisingly streamlined in play and easy to pick up. I think it has a decent amount of replayability despite a low number of encounter cards and scenarios because it has a ~150 card quest deck that branches depending on how players finish quests. I've played it twice and really enjoyed it both times I played it.

The 4 included scenarios are essentially base FO3 and base FO4 along with Far Harbor and the Pit. I'd imagine expansions would focus on the remaining DLC and maybe FO 1 and 2. Word is there will never be New Vegas content however.

"We live in a country, where John Lennon takes six bullets in the chest, Yoko Ono was standing right next to him and not one fucking bullet! Explain that to me! Explain that to me, God! Explain it to me, God!" - Denis Leary summing up my feelings about the nature of the universe.
Falconeer
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Reply #2492 on: December 10, 2017, 01:43:52 PM

How long is a game with 3, or 4 players?

Riggswolfe
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Reply #2493 on: December 11, 2017, 01:48:23 PM

How long is a game with 3, or 4 players?

It took us around 3 hours. We had a couple of rules issues but in general it went pretty quickly. I was surprised how easy it is to pick up and play compared to a typical FFG game. That said, after about 2-3 expansions I'm sure it'll be totally different.

"We live in a country, where John Lennon takes six bullets in the chest, Yoko Ono was standing right next to him and not one fucking bullet! Explain that to me! Explain that to me, God! Explain it to me, God!" - Denis Leary summing up my feelings about the nature of the universe.
Mosesandstick
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Reply #2494 on: January 02, 2018, 12:52:24 PM

Family/party game recommendation - I bought Codenames to try out over Christmas, and it's a lot of fun. Quick, easy to learn, and not repetitive. The game is usually completely SFW as well.
Chimpy
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Reply #2495 on: January 02, 2018, 02:48:05 PM

Exploding Kittens

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Reply #2496 on: January 02, 2018, 03:15:32 PM

I put Exploding Kittens in the same category as Munchkin and CAH -- cute the first few times but once you've seen the jokes on all the cards the fun wears off.

My go-to casual/family/pub games are Skull and Love Letter.  I can teach them to anyone in about five minutes, new players don't feel like they're at a horrible disadvantage, and they don't bore me out of my mind even though I've played them many times now.  Skull in particular is a great game for a large party because it scales well; Love Letter works better in small groups.

"I have not actually recommended many games, and I'll go on the record here saying my track record is probably best in the industry." - schild
eldaec
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Reply #2497 on: January 02, 2018, 05:35:37 PM

Family/party game recommendation - I bought Codenames to try out over Christmas, and it's a lot of fun. Quick, easy to learn, and not repetitive. The game is usually completely SFW as well.

Codenames is great - my only slight issue is that it is really only at its best with 8-10 players.

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Soln
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Reply #2498 on: January 02, 2018, 09:10:24 PM

Forbidden Island and Forbidden Desert are great for adult(s) + kid(s).
Sky
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Reply #2499 on: January 03, 2018, 07:10:04 AM

We like word games, so Paperback has become the game for my family (if not playing Scrabble/Boggle). They liked exploding kittens ok. Have codenames, but it does seem suited to bigger groups.

Just picked up Cat Lady for xmas.
jgsugden
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Reply #2500 on: January 03, 2018, 09:11:15 AM

To me a party game is a 7+ player game and a family game is one I can play with an 8 year old and that they'll have a legit chance to win (meaning a lot of luck or low levels of skill are required, or cooperative play) and understand the rules (meaning simple rules).

Party games popular in my circle are Dixit, Werewolf, Name in the Hat/Celebrity, Apples to Apples and Cards Against Humanity.  Honestly, not my favorite thing, but I enjoy Dixit the most of those.  If you need a game for a party worth of people, break them up into smaller groups and play better games.  However, Diplomacy for 7 players and Captain Sonar for 8 are exceptions to this rule.

In terms of family games, I recommend Kingdomino (short, simple), Settlers of Catan, and Pandemic.  Pandemic is cooperative, which allows a team based approach - it teaches a different mentality in gaming.  Once they master it, it also opens the door to Pandemic Legacy Season 1 and 2 which are amazing - but not until they're a bit older.  The GIPF series of games is also simple mechanically, but teach deeper thinking.  I'd also recommend pretty much everything on the MENSA Select list, especially SET, Ingenious, Qwirkle, Forbidden Island, Forbidden Desert, and Castles of Mad King Ludwig.

I also like dexterity / physical games with kids like ToK Tok Woodman/Click Clack Lumberjack, Rampage/Terror in Meeple City, PitchCar, Flick 'Em Up, and Elk Fest. 

2020 will be the year I gave up all hope.
ghost
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Reply #2501 on: January 03, 2018, 05:25:33 PM

If you like Race for the Galaxy and can't get anyone to grok it, Jump Drive is really good.  In fact, I think I like it better than Race, which I really like a lot. 
Viin
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Reply #2502 on: January 03, 2018, 05:46:54 PM

We've just started playing Sushi Go as a "party" game, though really only supports 6 players. The rules are a bit too complicated for my kids (and some adults, but its just math). All you need is the deck of cards, which makes it easily portable.

I can't get into Dixit but my family loves it. So sick of Cards Against Humanity.

Thanks for the other recommendations jgsugden, I'm going to look into those too!

- Viin
Ironwood
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Reply #2503 on: January 04, 2018, 02:54:07 AM

The wife bought me One Night Werewolf for xmas and that turned into a stupidly addictive wee game for the family.

Turns out I'm a master fucking liar.  Who knew ?

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jgsugden
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Reply #2504 on: January 04, 2018, 02:22:42 PM

A surprisingly interesting 2 player game: Patchwork.  Similar to Great Western Trail, it has very simple decision making processes, but complex strategy.  The theme may not appeal to many - if I were the makers I'd reskin this thing and rerelease it with a cooler concept attached - but the mechanics are very good. 

On your turn you decide whether to buy a patch of cloth for your quilt, then (if you buy one) you place it.  As you place it, time passes and you collect more resources to buy more patches.  You want to balance out your purchases of patches that generate funds, patches that fill in gaps in your blankie, and patches that your opponent really wants before they can get them.  You also need to balance cost versus your bank, anticipate when you'll generate more funds, and anticipate which pieces will be available to purchase at what time. 

For example, on one midgame turn you might be presented with four options for your turn: 1.) Collect extra income and advance in time, 2.) Take a cheap big piece of fabric that offers no long term income and is awkward to fit on a quilt, 3.) Buy a small piece that is easy to place and will generate funds to pay for itself over time (but slowly), or 4.) buy a medium size piece that isn't  really notable except that it is the perfect size to complete part of your opponent's pattern.  If you collect funds, you might be able to get a very nice piece on your following turn, but only if your leaves the door open to it.  If you get the big piece it will pay off at the end of the game - assuming you get the right pieces to work around the shape.  The small money generator will pay for itself in time, but you're sacrificing your ability to get other good pieces now in order to afford more later.  And blocking your foe may give you little immediate benefit now, but it might cost the opponent a mint down the road.  I've played three games and seen my strategy evolve every game.


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Hawkbit
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Reply #2505 on: January 04, 2018, 03:50:16 PM

Patchwork is great - I think BarenPark is fairly similar with a better theme, though I haven't played it yet.

For 2player, 7Wonders Duel is good, though I wish the components were better. Darn tiny cards!
Goldenmean
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Reply #2506 on: January 05, 2018, 10:26:04 AM

There's a bit of a wave of polyomino games like Patchwork coming out recently. In addition to the aforementioned Barenpark, there's also Cottage Garden and Indian Summer should be out sometime this month. Both of those are also designed by Uwe Rosenberg and are evolutions of Patchwork (which itself came out of his designing Feast for Odin). They're also meant to form a thematic trilogy, so there should be another one out late 2018 or 2019.
ghost
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Reply #2507 on: January 05, 2018, 07:00:04 PM

Played a few games of Photosynthesis with the kids.  It's a simple game, but requires some planning.  Has a spatial mechanic that is neat and it's a nice looking game, too.  May appeal to non-gamers due to simplicity and looks and it is a lot of fun too.  Recommend.
luckton
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Reply #2508 on: January 06, 2018, 09:50:20 AM

We've just started playing Sushi Go as a "party" game, though really only supports 6 players. The rules are a bit too complicated for my kids (and some adults, but its just math). All you need is the deck of cards, which makes it easily portable.

Upgrade to "Sushi Go Party!" More dish types, specials, a full score tracking game board + reference cards and customizable "menus". Along with support for up to 8 players. Well worth the investment!

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Viin
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Reply #2509 on: January 06, 2018, 01:01:26 PM

I saw that at the store today, so I was thinking about it. Thanks for the info on what's different!

- Viin
ghost
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Reply #2510 on: January 07, 2018, 04:41:42 PM

Was not impressed with Santorini, but then again I don't like highly strategic two player games, typically.  It's got good production values, and variable powers mix things up a bit, but if I'm going to play this sort of game I'd prefer Onitama
Jeff Kelly
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Reply #2511 on: January 08, 2018, 05:03:51 AM

A few of my friends have gotten the spoils off of a recent Kickstarter binge and so we're mostly playing "Gloomhaven" and "Kingdom Death Monster".

Gloomhaven is a very nice deck-builder dungeon crawler with persistence (you unlock characters and other stuff during the campaign) but also a serious time investment. There are 51 story missions and 50 side missions in total and so far we average about 2 to 3 Scenarios per play session. Expect the campaign to take a few weeks or months to complete.

KDM is a survival game. You build parties to gather resources (via hunting strange prey) and use the resources to upgrade your settlement. So there's a strategy layer (settlement phase where you research and upgrade stuff and manage your colony) and a tatctics layer (the hunt for resources which is played on a grid with plastic minis). It's about as deadly as and has a similar makabre humor to darkest dungeon. Expect your settlers to die a lot and your Progress to get erased by lots of creative and mischivious events. It has a lot of fully customizable miniatures for your settlers and the Monsters and is fun if you don't mind getting your ass kicked a lot by the game's mechanics

If you're looking for a game that is more suited for children I can recommend Mice Mystics which is a great cooperative dungeon crawler with deck building elements for ages 7+ or Clonk!
Sky
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Reply #2512 on: January 08, 2018, 09:19:39 AM

I've been an ardent Kingdom Death fanboy since 2011 or so.

I spent a ton for the first KS, and have all the stuff from the new one, as well. Game is awesome, minis are awesome.
Jeff Kelly
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Reply #2513 on: January 10, 2018, 03:39:37 AM

We had one of our friends basically walk out of the Kingdom Death Monster game session when we first encountered The Butcher. He cursed out the game for being "unfair" and that the whole thing was "bullshit". ´Completely missing the Point of the game as far as I'm concerned
Hoax
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Reply #2514 on: January 10, 2018, 05:49:11 AM

Butcher fight isn't even /that/ hard. The first time I ran it I accidentally gave him the level3 special card that means he has 50% invuln save to ignore any wound and wiped the party. But I learned a lot from trying to do that impossible thing and I got through the next one with only one severe injury roll that luckily wasn't too damaging.

Monster Grease, Cat Spear, 1-2 bandage aren't the worst idea, hope you can get really lucky and get +2 evasion on someone then stack grease and rawhide chest with its links.

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Jeff Kelly
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Reply #2515 on: January 10, 2018, 06:46:22 AM

We are playing the game for the first time and so far have not read up on any of the Story Content on the net. We were simply not prepared and got caught completely off guard.

His opinion was that it's "totally unfair" that the game gave us a challenge we weren't prepared to surpass. That's missing the point of the game IMO though. I see it in the vein of other survival games (I get a distinct "Darkest Dungeons" vibe from it) and it#s par for the course that you fail and fail often.

We ended the fight because of the special that makes someone priority target for the whole fight and let that Person run away (with the Butcher following.

I'm very fond of the game's humor and it's tendency to screw with you and your expectations and so far had loads of fun with every Encounter.

We unlocked the phoenix recently and that fight is a whole lot of fun (also fucking scary)
Sky
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Reply #2516 on: January 10, 2018, 08:26:31 AM

1. Join the FB group By Lantern's Light for rules questions.
2. Vibrant Lantern for assembly help

The game teaches you to play by playing. You will die a lot and it's punitive only to people who don't adapt to it. The designer loved Dark Souls. If you beat the game with your first settlement, you probably misunderstood some rules and made it too easy.

I suck at those kind of games and didn't wipe at the Butcher, even though his style nullified one of my better specialists. It was brutal and people died and or got fucked up pretty bad.

The game has death in the name. The point is to keep pushing the settlement forward, individuals are just a means to that end. Poots has said he thinks the biggest design flaw is that people prioritize character survival, when it's really about the settlement.
luckton
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Reply #2517 on: January 15, 2018, 05:05:11 AM

https://restorationgames.com/fireball-island/

OMG...this was my jam when I was in after-school growing up.  DRILLING AND MANLINESS

Shut up and take my money indeed!

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Teleku
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Reply #2518 on: January 15, 2018, 08:11:01 AM

Lol, awesome.  Think there is still my original copy buried in the top of a closet at my moms house.

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Rendakor
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Reply #2519 on: January 17, 2018, 06:19:34 AM

I loved that game as a kid. Might be the first boardgame I actually kickstart.

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