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Author Topic: The Boardgame Thread  (Read 585236 times)
Mrbloodworth
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on: November 22, 2010, 12:27:01 PM

I'm trying to get a game night going with some friends. I had this game at one point in time but my set seems in disarray. Anyway, wondering if anyone has played any modern versions that follow the same line. Quick to get going, fun, not a ton of rules all over, hour sessions, playable by non DnD nerds, generated dungeons, somewhat ganeric.

HeroQuest

PS: Didn't we have a board game section at one point? *shrug*
« Last Edit: January 14, 2011, 10:44:09 AM by Mrbloodworth »

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dusematic
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Reply #1 on: November 22, 2010, 01:17:24 PM

I played the shit out of Hero Quest in middle school.  Still have the whole set and every expansion except for the Elf-centric one (could never find it).  Was pretty cool because it didn't have the stigma of being DnD so you could get regular people to play, and those people could pick up the game rules within seconds.  I also dug the old school art and furniture and general  80s fantasy "vibe" of the whole thing.

I just went to Toys R' Us over the weekend for the first time in over a decade and was surprised that they didn't have anything similar.  I know at one point they had something called "Hero Clix" but that came out after I was sort of too old for that kind of stuff (not that I wouldn't play HeroQuest right now if I could find anyone who wouldn't be weirded out).  

Do you remember Battlemasters?  That was a sweet game too.  Still have it.
« Last Edit: November 22, 2010, 01:20:38 PM by dusematic »
Ingmar
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Reply #2 on: November 22, 2010, 01:20:28 PM


The Transcendent One: AH... THE ROGUE CONSTRUCT.
Nordom: Sense of closure: imminent.
JWIV
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Reply #3 on: November 22, 2010, 01:21:01 PM

I'm trying to get a game night going with some friends. I had this game at one point in time but my set seems in disarray. Anyway, wondering if anyone has played any modern versions that follow the same line. Quick to get going, fun, not a ton of rules all over, hour sessions, playable by non DnD nerds, generated dungeons, somewhat ganeric.

HeroQuest

PS: Didn't we have a board game section at one point? *shrug*

Descent comes to mind, but I haven't played that and my understanding is that it can be a bit long and somewhat rules heavy.
Maybe Castle Ravenloft or Runewars.


dusematic
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Reply #4 on: November 22, 2010, 01:21:23 PM

This kind of shit used to be sold at toy stores and now you have to go to hardcore specialty shops.
Chimpy
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Reply #5 on: November 22, 2010, 01:42:29 PM

I don't know if it fits the bill, but I played a game called Shadows Over Camelot with some friends that was really good. It is a co-op game which is pretty well done.

www.boardgamegeek.com  has reviews etc on a ton of board games.

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Reply #6 on: November 22, 2010, 01:44:22 PM

www.boardgamegeek.com

All of the specialty board game shops do ebay selling/shipping these days as well, if you can't find a local shop. Talisman is always a fun option for this type of game.


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Khaldun
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Reply #7 on: November 22, 2010, 01:45:01 PM

I have heard that Castle Ravenloft is very playable.
Mrbloodworth
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Reply #8 on: November 22, 2010, 02:34:27 PM

Those of you suggesting Descent, have you played it? Is it a good social game? Good for those that don't normally play such games? There may be various intoxicants involved, is it friendly to that?

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Ironwood
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Reply #9 on: November 22, 2010, 02:45:13 PM

That website is all kinds of sore on the eyes.

 ACK!

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Chimpy
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Reply #10 on: November 22, 2010, 03:02:01 PM

That website is all kinds of sore on the eyes.

 ACK!

Substance over style is their mantra, I think.


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dusematic
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Reply #11 on: November 22, 2010, 03:11:51 PM

Those of you suggesting Descent, have you played it? Is it a good social game? Good for those that don't normally play such games? There may be various intoxicants involved, is it friendly to that?

You can get a pristine copy of Hero Quest on Ebay for like $50.  Just buy HQ again.
Ghambit
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Reply #12 on: November 22, 2010, 06:39:19 PM

If you can snag a copy of "Warhammer Quest" (out of print) please to be buying it.  Good luck finding a reasonable price though.
It fills a niche that's very tight right now... that being short, simple co-op dungeon crawls.  Descent is an Epic-style game; rules are fairly light, but the games last quite a while unless you go online and tweak the game.  If you want Descent in space, play Battlestations (awesome game, but low production quality unless you expand).

Skip Ravenloft, not hearing good things about it.  The tiles are bland, art is minimal (nay, unfinished really) missions fairly repetitive even if "different", players die way too much, and there's not much worthwhile strat. it seems.  Tbh the game was designed in typical WotC style, which is to pawn expansions off on the public to fill in design voids.  I suppose it's a decent buy for entry-level folk, but I hear there's frustration even amongst the muggles.

If you want kind of that "dungeon crawl" feel but w/o the standard hack 'n slash you could try a game like "Defenders of the Realm."  It's is a lot like co-op games such as Pandemic or Ghost Stories, but set in high fantasy with a bit more depth and options.  Middle Earth: Quest is also highly regarded, but not as much of a crawl as one might think... there's still resource management and the race against souron, etc.

The reality is, these are your choices:
1)  Score a copy of WHQ
2)  Alter Descent to a shortened version
3)  Play DnD 4e with a lite scenario
4)  Enjoy Ravenloft the best you can and wait for the xpac

note:  your 1-hour playtime puts a serious crimp on what's out there.  Also, if you dont mind stepping away from fantasy, "Mansions of Madness" should be releasing Q1 2011, which is a cthulhu-esque type crawl in the vein of Arkham Horror, designed by the genius that did BSG.

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Pezzle
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Reply #13 on: November 22, 2010, 08:34:39 PM

Have you considered Munchkin Quest?  It takes a little getting used to but the game flows pretty well once you get the hang of it.  As for a single hour?  Dunno.  I would rank it above Order of the Stick since that game seems grindy thought it can be fun.  While it strays from typical board games you might try Slasher, the final cut. http://www.pen-paper.net/gamedb.php?op=showothergame&othergameid=67 .  Not sure where you might find a copy though.
Morfiend
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Reply #14 on: November 22, 2010, 09:07:19 PM

Since we are talking about Board Games, does any one remember a game where you entered a dungeon, and each room you entered you had to pick a tile and lay it down and it would uncover the dungeon and be completely random. You had only a specific about of turns until the sun went down and you all died (or something).
Trippy
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Reply #15 on: November 22, 2010, 09:35:20 PM

Ghambit
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Reply #16 on: November 22, 2010, 09:51:44 PM

Since we are talking about Board Games, does any one remember a game where you entered a dungeon, and each room you entered you had to pick a tile and lay it down and it would uncover the dungeon and be completely random. You had only a specific about of turns until the sun went down and you all died (or something).

Also is kinda like Ravenloft.  Players are slowly dying over time and if they dont get out quickly they die and lose.

Have you considered Munchkin Quest?  It takes a little getting used to but the game flows pretty well once you get the hang of it.  As for a single hour?  Dunno.  I would rank it above Order of the Stick since that game seems grindy thought it can be fun.  While it strays from typical board games you might try Slasher, the final cut. http://www.pen-paper.net/gamedb.php?op=showothergame&othergameid=67 .  Not sure where you might find a copy though.

Well, if we're goin into card games that pretend to be boardgames then I recommend deckbuilders like Thunderstone or Heroes of Graxia.  The latter of which has the most rpg feel.  There's lighter faire like Ascension (designed by some of the creators of MtG) also.  None of them, including MQ, are co-op though.

I'm assuming the OP wants a co-op crawl.

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Azazel
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Reply #17 on: November 22, 2010, 11:05:17 PM

There's also Talisman which gets a new print run every so often, and I think there's even a World of Warcraft boardgame. No idea what it's like, but it might work for you.

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Kitsune
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Reply #18 on: November 23, 2010, 12:18:21 AM

Descent and Castle Ravenloft are pretty much it right now for the dungeon-crawl genre boardgames.
Runebound and Talisman are both fantasy-based word-exploring boardgames and both good, but not dungeon-crawly.
Warhammer Quest is hands-down the best dungeon-crawler I've played, but it can be difficult to find and expensive.  I bought my copy and the expansions before it went out of print, and cherish it.  My friends and I have an ongoing WQ game that we play every week or two, it's good mindless fun.
HeroQuest has a downside in my opinion in that one player has to be the 'dungeon master', so you need one person willing to sacrifice the dungeon crawl to manage all the monsters and stuff.  That aside, it's another easy fun game, and cheaper by far to get than Warhammer Quest.
Tarami
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Reply #19 on: November 23, 2010, 01:39:00 AM

I will go straight to the point:

DungeonQuest is what you want. It's the game that can take five minutes or two hours. If all you want is some mindless roll'n'move and draw cards and watch eachother die horribly, it's the game with a capital G. Best of all, all the rules needed to be explained are "on your turn, draw a tile, flip it over, follow the instructions. The one getting out with most gold wins." Someone needs to know all the actual rules, but it's very very quick to get started.

Whatever you do, don't get Descent. It's inane for reasons I can elaborate on if you like. It, and four expansions, is in my Shame Box, which I put games in that I never intend to play again unless someone really, really nags.

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dusematic
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Reply #20 on: November 23, 2010, 06:49:26 AM

Shame Box

I have a shame box too.  And it's not filled with games.   this guy looks legit
Mrbloodworth
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Reply #21 on: November 23, 2010, 07:47:26 AM

World of Warcraft boardgame.

I already own that, like the real game, the rules are a mess.

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Valmorian
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Reply #22 on: November 23, 2010, 07:59:24 AM

World of Warcraft boardgame.

I already own that, like the real game, the rules are a mess.

There's two World of Warcraft board games (and more than that if you count just "warcraft" board games).  The first one was a big box game that was incredibly convoluted, the second is "World of Warcraft, the adventure game" which is more like talisman.

How much time do you want to devote every game night, how many players do you have, and do you want just dungeon-crawling or fantasy adventure in general?
Typhon
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Reply #23 on: November 23, 2010, 09:13:05 AM

Munchkin Cthulu (Steve Jackson Games) - "Kill the Monsters! Steal their Treasure! Stab you buddies! Go MAD!"

Never played it, but looks like some kinda fun, specially the "Go MAD!" part.  Not sure how long it takes to play.
Tarami
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Reply #24 on: November 23, 2010, 09:53:14 AM

I already own that, like the real game, the rules are a mess.
Expect this from every Fantasy Flight Games (FFG) gamedesign.

Edit:
Clarified that it's something that affect only their in-house games, not necessarily the ones they reprint... although they generally botch those up aswell.
« Last Edit: November 23, 2010, 10:01:20 AM by Tarami »

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Azazel
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Reply #25 on: November 23, 2010, 10:00:52 AM

Actually, there's also "Dungeon". Which I guess is probably out of print. Same dungeon every time, but who/what's inside is randomly generated from the cards you place in the rooms and flip over when you get there.


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dusematic
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Reply #26 on: November 23, 2010, 10:49:13 AM

Again, if you're sad you lost the original HQ and are looking to spend money on a game as close to that experience as possible, then, ebay is your friend.

http://cgi.ebay.com/HEROQUEST-HERO-QUEST-GAME-SYSTEM-MB-1990-complete-/320619473101?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4aa668e8cd

$21 for a complete boxed set.
Ghambit
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Reply #27 on: November 23, 2010, 10:56:46 AM

"Betrayal at House on the Hill" could be considered a short, crawlish type co-op game.  Although, I'd be willing to bet that Mansion of Madness will be better.
Kinda important if we wants FFA play, pvp, and/or co-op.  I see a lot of FFA suggestions here.

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Ratman_tf
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Reply #28 on: November 23, 2010, 11:27:12 AM

Ravenloft is quicker, and simpler, but there are lots of fan scenarios for Descent that are designed to be short.

Talisman is the ultimate beer and pretzles D&Dish game.



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Valmorian
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Reply #29 on: November 23, 2010, 11:58:07 AM

Ravenloft is quicker, and simpler, but there are lots of fan scenarios for Descent that are designed to be short.

Talisman is the ultimate beer and pretzles D&Dish game.

Yeah, it's the fantasy hobby equivalent to the Game of Life, Snakes and Ladders or Candyland.
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Reply #30 on: November 30, 2010, 07:07:08 PM

I love the idea of Descent, but holy shit is it a pain in the ass to actually play - set-up, which takes place in stages throughout the game, is such a chore.

Also, if you're DM, unless you get some good ganks in early (which can be pretty easy) you are screwed once the heroes start to gear up. As DM I found that unless I ease up on the heroes they were going to get housed early, and that's no fun.

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Muffled
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Reply #31 on: December 01, 2010, 02:02:39 AM

Yeah, once they figure out that they can just invest in real estate the game really loses steam.
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Reply #32 on: December 01, 2010, 04:28:16 AM

The big question is if you fancy the "dungeon crawl" feel of Hero Quest. I think we have already established that you do.

Do you like the split in DM and party or are you more interested in the cooperative mode of play?

If its the former the already suggested Descent is a good choice (although a single setting usually runs for two or three hours instead of one). Fantasy flight games have made a number of titles that are basically variants of Descent in different settings. Be warned that the rules and rule manuals are usually pretty obtuse so beginner players can become confused when trying to decipher the meaning of certain rules.

There was a sibling to Hero Quest called "Space Hulk" I believe which offers the same style of game play but is set in the Warhammer 40k Universe but I don't know if it's still available. There's also Talisman which doesn't feature cooperative play is fine nonetheless.

Another game would be Memoir '44 that features a similar style of play as Descent but is set in WW2 and Missions are styled as WW2 campaign settings.

A game I personally like very much and that offers cooperative play is Arkham Horror which is set in the Cthulhu universe by HP Lovecraft and in which the players have to team up to prevent an old one from rising. It offers a few expansions and can be quite challenging yet a game usually only lasts for an hour.

I'd also recommend the Originial Lord of the Rings Board Game (distributed by Kosmos in Europe and Fantasy Flight Games in the US), in this game the players team up to try to bring the One Ring to Mount Doom before Sauron catches up with them. Please be careful, though. In recent years a lot of new games have come out that also use Lord of the Rings as the setting, avoid ordering the wrong game.

If you like some suggestions for traditional board games in which the players play against each other I have more suggestions
Ghambit
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Reply #33 on: December 01, 2010, 12:16:15 PM

Space Hulk is a wargame, also no longer in print, even the newest release goes for over $200.   Memoir44 is also a pvp wargame and nothing like Descent, which is a straight up holy trinity fantasy crawler.
The original LotR is more of a generic resource-grindy coop math eurogame.  The LOTR element is mainly a thematic layer.  The xpacs supposedly open things up quite a bit though and are highly recommended as the 1st release is essentially just a tutorial.  BUT, an epic dungeon crawler it is nowhere near being.

If Arkham is desired it'd probably be smart to just wait for Mansions of Madness to come out or just splurge on Arkham and be sure to buy the preferred xpacs. 

"See, the beauty of webgames is that I can play them on my phone while I'm plowing your mom."  -Samwise
Tarami
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Reply #34 on: December 01, 2010, 03:53:37 PM

Even Descent is not a Holy Trinity dungeoncrawl. There's absolutely no point in having things like tanks (because there's no support for keeping fire off of weaker characters) and there's no way to make a healer unless you're extremely lucky with loot cards. There's also no consistent way to CC unless you find very specific items. There aren't even any spells to speak of. Descent is, at best, a multiplayer Diablo session where you have to do all the bookkeeping manually. Except it's not like Diablo, because the DM will do everything in her/his power to avoid getting her/his monsters killed, including running behind corners and generally "exploit" rules to the contrary of the hack'n'slash genre.

It's like someone played D&D, ripped out most of the fun (the puzzles, the strong theme, the non-combat abilities, the character development and the group dynamics) and spent a fortune on designing chits and miniatures to replace those darn pesky character sheets. Realizing the game now only took an hour to play, they proceeded to throw enough contrived rules (DoTs, weird monster abilities et c.) back in to bump the sessions back up to four hours.

I think Warhammer Quest is the closest anyone has got to a genuine co-op dungeoncrawl. It's only a shame it uses Warhammer FB's combat rules as something much more streamlined would have suited it better, which rather ironically is one of the only things Descent got right. tongue
« Last Edit: December 01, 2010, 07:00:29 PM by Tarami »

- I'm giving you this one for free.
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