The Big Board-Gaming Catch-All

I got King of Tokyo and Galaxy Truckers for Christmas. Played King of Tokyo with wife and daughter and I like it a lot. Fast, fun, and easy enough for my 4 year old to get in on the action as well. Later that night wife and I played a second game and once we played with two monsters each, things really started getting crazy. Lots of laughs and we both really like the mechanics of holding Tokyo for dealing crazy damage but no healing.

Really looking forward to learning and playing Galaxy Trucker soon.

ccesarano wrote:

Hrm. I think I may be underestimating some of the cards to this game, or rather overestimating benefits versus underestimating the worth of others.

It's pretty hard to get a feel for the worth of cards in the game, particularly since it changes depending on the setup. Did you guys play with Chapel? Chapel is a card that it took me a while to "get". Village, too, seems really fantastic at first, but it takes finesse to use well instead of just constructing a big long string of Villages

But that's what I like about Dominion, it's actually pretty deep, at least by my standards -- I don't play a lot of brain burners.

Dominion is definitely a lot deeper than many people give it credit for. Well, as long as you add expansions. A lot of the depth is wasted in the base game since there's basically one dominant strategy.

Chapel is the best card in the game.

Nah, the recommended First Timers deck was empty of Chapel. It did have Village, which is much better in action-heavy hands. I made good use of it on occasion, but as I also started buying Green cards early on I'd often enough play it and just draw a Green.

It might take me more time to play to get a real feel, but at this point I can much more confidently recommend Resident Evil DBG to anyone that likes Dominion. I basically skimmed the Dominion rules because I was already familiar with the mechanics 100%, just that Resident Evil adds some additional elements in.

I'm also more convinced than ever that my friends and I creating a house rule that you can trash up to 1 card a turn in Resident Evil is what allows the game to be broken, as going through the manual I never found such a thing to be stated. I've permitted us to play with that rule other times, but it really makes it too easy to whittle your deck down to systematically have the required number of weapons and ammo each time you explore the mansion to take down the strongest monster.

Though I'm very happy with my Christmas take, I do have this $50 burning a hole in my Amazon wallet My daughter feels I should get an board game more than a card game since 3 out of the 4 games I did receive were card based. I was looking at Defenders of the Realm because I know I can play that with her or alone, but I did just get Flash point, which is also a coop game ( as all of you are very aware ). Any suggestions on games to buy? I'd like to be able to play with at least 2 players, though solo is a plus ( but not a necessity ), and if it is over $50, well, the gift certificate will just soften the blow

Cragmyre wrote:

Though I'm very happy with my Christmas take, I do have this $50 burning a hole in my Amazon wallet My daughter feels I should get an board game more than a card game since 3 out of the 4 games I did receive were card based. I was looking at Defenders of the Realm because I know I can play that with her or alone, but I did just get Flash point, which is also a coop game ( as all of you are very aware ). Any suggestions on games to buy? I'd like to be able to play with at least 2 players, though solo is a plus ( but not a necessity ), and if it is over $50, well, the gift certificate will just soften the blow ;)

Complicated but Mage Knight works as both solo, coop, vs and with multiple players. And it's an amazing game.

Fredrik_S wrote:
Cragmyre wrote:

Though I'm very happy with my Christmas take, I do have this $50 burning a hole in my Amazon wallet My daughter feels I should get an board game more than a card game since 3 out of the 4 games I did receive were card based. I was looking at Defenders of the Realm because I know I can play that with her or alone, but I did just get Flash point, which is also a coop game ( as all of you are very aware ). Any suggestions on games to buy? I'd like to be able to play with at least 2 players, though solo is a plus ( but not a necessity ), and if it is over $50, well, the gift certificate will just soften the blow ;)

Complicated but Mage Knight works as both solo, coop, vs and with multiple players. And it's an amazing game.

How old is your daughter? It's more than just complicated, I would go so far as to call it too complicated for a lot of younger folk. Flashpoint is a much safer bet that you have, where it's not complicated and it has some of the best "AI" in any co-op board game.

I'd try out your four and see what interests you of those, report back, and fish for more suggestions.

Daughter is 11, and I already own Mage Knight as well as: the three D&D games ( Ravenloft, Wrath, Drizzt ), Castle Panic, Runebound, Summoner Wars, Lord of the Rings LCG, and Quarriors. We haven't played Mage Knight together, but she did watch me play through the first scenario. She gets the games, but is still developing a strategic mind ( so sometimes I have to suggest things to her ). The games don't have to be cooperative, but when they are I know I can solo if she isn't in the mood to play

Cragmyre wrote:

Daughter is 11, and I already own Mage Knight as well as: the three D&D games ( Ravenloft, Wrath, Drizzt ), Castle Panic, Runebound, Summoner Wars, Lord of the Rings LCG, and Quarriors. We haven't played Mage Knight together, but she did watch me play through the first scenario. She gets the games, but is still developing a strategic mind ( so sometimes I have to suggest things to her ). The games don't have to be cooperative, but when they are I know I can solo if she isn't in the mood to play :D

No strategic mind? Well, it sounds like your only real solution is to start playing for money and buy all of the games you want.

Perfectly sound plan.

You seem to have a bit of a Euro-hole (OOCT). Maybe Eclipse? It's 4x with a euro economy and hands-down the best player boards ever. Or in a more traditional vein, Caylus, Agricola (solo-able) or Stone Age. Maybe even Dominant Species; a lot of fun but a bit long and fiddly.

If you want something a bit simpler but still tons of fun, Tobago is really great, as is King of Tokyo. I also just picked up Thebes (treasure-hunting like Tobago but different setting), but haven't played it yet.

Or, straight down the middle like the games you already have, Mice & Mystics is a fun dungeon-crawling co-op that is playable with one player. Great theme for kids, too. The dice can give you pretty wild fluctuations between romping through a scenario and getting creamed, but at least it's not predicable.

Cragmyre wrote:

Daughter is 11, and I already own Mage Knight as well as: the three D&D games ( Ravenloft, Wrath, Drizzt ), Castle Panic, Runebound, Summoner Wars, Lord of the Rings LCG, and Quarriors. We haven't played Mage Knight together, but she did watch me play through the first scenario. She gets the games, but is still developing a strategic mind ( so sometimes I have to suggest things to her ). The games don't have to be cooperative, but when they are I know I can solo if she isn't in the mood to play :D

+1 to your street cred for owning Mage Knight

Have you thought about Castle Panic? That game went over fantastically at my house this Christmas with nieces and nephews around that age.

UMOarsman wrote:
Cragmyre wrote:

Daughter is 11, and I already own Mage Knight as well as: the three D&D games ( Ravenloft, Wrath, Drizzt ), Castle Panic, Runebound, Summoner Wars, Lord of the Rings LCG, and Quarriors. We haven't played Mage Knight together, but she did watch me play through the first scenario. She gets the games, but is still developing a strategic mind ( so sometimes I have to suggest things to her ). The games don't have to be cooperative, but when they are I know I can solo if she isn't in the mood to play :D

+1 to your street cred for owning Mage Knight

Have you thought about Castle Panic? That game went over fantastically at my house this Christmas with nieces and nephews around that age.

Maybe I'll use the $50 to pick up different expansions for some of those games listed above. We did play Castle Panic and won, but we played open handed - I'd like to try it with her playing more by herself.

Played two rounds of FlashPoint today with my son (he's 7). We both had a really good time. We won both rounds, though the second one was close; it was a race to get the last victim out before another explosion, which would have collapsed the building on us.

We need to find time to play our new copies of Forbidden Island and Ticket to Ride before we're off vacation, too. I also received Innovation, though I'm not sure he's ready for that one.

Just played two rounds of Escape: The Curse of the Temple with my wife. Very fun. Glad we played by ourselves and not with the girls though, it is incredibly hectic. Would have been hard for us to learn at the same time we were teaching them.

For those who haven't played, the game is 10 minutes long or less. It's timed by a soundtrack. Once the soundtrack says go, it's a frantic mess of dice rolling, as you are continually rolling to get the right combinations. You have ten minutes to work your way through the temple, discovering new tiles and activating gems. Every three minutes or so you have to rush back to the entrance (signaled by a gong), and if you don't make it in time you lose one of your dice.

You can help each other out, so there was a ton of calling out rolls back and forth, and between that and the rolling itself, we completely missed the audio cues on the soundtrack. We ended up losing dice on both playthroughs, but being able to escape (barely) even with our reduced power.

I just found a third version of the soundtrack which is gong/door sounds only, so it should be much easier to pick up the cues next time around. I'm looking forward to playing this one again.

Teneman wrote:

Just played two rounds of Escape: The Curse of the Temple with my wife. Very fun. Glad we played by ourselves and not with the girls though, it is incredibly hectic. Would have been hard for us to learn at the same time we were teaching them.

For those who haven't played, the game is 10 minutes long or less. It's timed by a soundtrack. Once the soundtrack says go, it's a frantic mess of dice rolling, as you are continually rolling to get the right combinations. You have ten minutes to work your way through the temple, discovering new tiles and activating gems. Every three minutes or so you have to rush back to the entrance (signaled by a gong), and if you don't make it in time you lose one of your dice.

You can help each other out, so there was a ton of calling out rolls back and forth, and between that and the rolling itself, we completely missed the audio cues on the soundtrack. We ended up losing dice on both playthroughs, but being able to escape (barely) even with our reduced power.

I just found a third version of the soundtrack which is gong/door sounds only, so it should be much easier to pick up the cues next time around. I'm looking forward to playing this one again.

We played 5-player last night about 10 times with different family members. We used curses and treasures, which I highly recommend. Hilarity ensued. At one point, my (now older) Mom who was teamed up with my brother on one end of the dungeon abandoned him and rushed to the newly placed exit. The problem is she was moving through blocked doors, one after another...while my brother now muted with that curse card was completely locked up with 5 black masks. Needless to say, once the final door slammed we looked up to find my brother just shaking his head in silence, with my mother oblivious to leaving him behind. Anyway, good times. I highly recommend it for groups.

Got the Memoir '44: Equipment Pack for Christmas. It's just a big ol' box of plastic, which is either totally uninteresting or completely captivating, depending on how you like your chrome (I'm in the latter, obviously). Looking forward to straightening out all the bent gun barrels.

Gonna back this. I playtested it at BGG Con this year, was a good time!

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...

Got Xwing plus expansions for Christmas and this game rocks is amazing. My first miniatures game and will probably be my only because the Starwars theme and easy to learn can attract most people. 75 point game was fun but I'm hoping to get a 100 point games in the near future. Plus I want room for customization for each player which means a lot of freaking ties fighters. I'll have to keep a close eye on amazon prices because they sell them cheap every month or so. Cant wait for wave 2.

Also I bought descent with early Christmas money during that Amazon deal but I haven't played it because of vacation. I'm hoping to find a dedicated group of friends to play a whole campaign with in the coming months.

My birthday is in a week and I hope I get Summoner Wars Master Set and Netrunner. It's funny that summoner wars is my 2nd favorite game of all time and I never touch the physical game. All iOS plays so far. I was never interested in Netrunner until I actually look into. The asymmetrical play sounds amazing.

God, board gaming is amazing.

MitchellW wrote:

Gonna back this. I playtested it at BGG Con this year, was a good time!

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...

30 minute 4X game... I'm intrigued but I'll wait till the game is officially out. $70 is a little high for me when it comes to kickstarter projects especially somebody who I'm not familiar with.

Crockpot wrote:
MitchellW wrote:

Gonna back this. I playtested it at BGG Con this year, was a good time!

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...

30 minute 4X game... I'm intrigued but I'll wait till the game is officially out. $70 is a little high for me when it comes to kickstarter projects especially somebody who I'm not familiar with.

Is 30 minutes per player for a 4X short?

$70 is a bit steep, but it's actually about the regular cost of a 4X game.

It says 30-45 min per player. Seems like a faster game than twilight imperium. Course it probably has more to do with who I play with than the game itself.

MitchellW wrote:
Crockpot wrote:
MitchellW wrote:

Gonna back this. I playtested it at BGG Con this year, was a good time!

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...

30 minute 4X game... I'm intrigued but I'll wait till the game is officially out. $70 is a little high for me when it comes to kickstarter projects especially somebody who I'm not familiar with.

Is 30 minutes per player for a 4X short?

$70 is a bit steep, but it's actually about the regular cost of a 4X game.

That, uh, looks like a pretty blatant rip-off of Eclipse, the most recent smash success in the 4x world. I'll stick with the latter, personally.

Currently I'm on the fence with Fortune and Glory: The Cliffhanger Game. I've watched videos and it looks fun, soloable, and might even be a genre my wife would be more interested in ( she is not into fantasy at all ). I've also been on the fence with Defenders of the Realm, Lords of Waterdeep, picking up expansions to existing games, and many many more. This is why I just throw things on my wishlist and let others decide for me

Cragmyre wrote:

Currently I'm on the fence with Fortune and Glory: The Cliffhanger Game. I've watched videos and it looks fun, soloable, and might even be a genre my wife would be more interested in ( she is not into fantasy at all ). I've also been on the fence with Defenders of the Realm, Lords of Waterdeep, picking up expansions to existing games, and many many more. This is why I just throw things on my wishlist and let others decide for me :D

Fortune and Glory seemed like a slam dunk, but everyone I know who has played it says it's unnecessarily fiddly and doesn't end up as fun as you'd think. I've seen ding and dent copies at our local game store for as low as $40, but even that hasn't enticed me.

Minarchist wrote:

That, uh, looks like a pretty blatant rip-off of Eclipse, the most recent smash success in the 4x world. I'll stick with the latter, personally.

The kickstarter has a link to that discussion on boardgame geek:

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/...

Basic summary for the lazy:

1. The game was designed before Eclipse hit the shelves, it's just been in protoype stage for 2 years while it was being refined and pursuing a publisher.

2. The games look similar due to some convergent evolution.

3. The games play very differently due to different design expectations.

4. There are a lot of differences, most fundamental to gameplay. Check the link for a full list.

(edit): Also the biggest different for my gaming table will be that my wife will appreciate Hegemonic combat more. Quote from that BGG thread:

"Eclipse:
Luck is spread throughout this game. Combat depends on dice. Available technologies depend on tile draws. System hexes are not placed until they're explored. This can have a significant effect; in particular a monolith technology tile that appears on the last turn of the game can give someone a lot more points than they would otherwise have been able to get. However, all of the luck effects can be mitigated through planning. Critically, exploring and finding that your home sector is surrounded by ancients is not crippling and can even be beneficial.

Hegemonic:
Drawn technology/resolution cards and sector tiles in the sector pool are random, but there are separate discard piles for each type of system in the game, allowing players lots of choice in drawing cards to fit their strategy. Sector pool luck mitigated based on pool size and its common nature and that tiles are chosen before placement. Drawn technology/resolution cards are are ulti-purposed, having a tech benefit and two types of combat resolution benefits to choose between. "

Heh. Fair enough.

Had a rare game playing opportunity last night -- two of my good friends surprised me a while back by saying they loved playing Settlers of Catan and actually owned a copy of Puerto Rico. I've played Settlers with them once, and I had them play 7 Wonders with me once. Last night I got the call for another session of Settlers.

I know the game is revered, and considered a modern classic by some, but I just... I don't know. I find it kind of boring. It was a close game -- 10 points to 9 to 9 to 9. The whole time, though, I just kept wishing I was playing something else.

After we finished, I valiantly tried to get them to play a game of TICKET TO RIDE, but was shot down by the hostess.

Ah well. Maybe next time.

I'm not a big fan of Settlers of Catan either. At this point, I just feel like there are so many better and more interesting options out there.

It's been probably 10 years since I've played any of the expansions, but I remember having some good fun with the Cities and Robbers.

soonerjudd wrote:

It's been probably 10 years since I've played any of the expansions, but I remember having some good fun with the Cities and Robbers.

I've heard many people say that adding in the expansions (especially Cities & Knights) makes it a much more interesting game, but MAN... it took about 90 minutes to play the base game with four people. I can't imagine what it'd be like to play for 2-3 hours or more!

Part of my problem with the game might be that I *DIDN'T* discover it in college or some other place where my friends and I would be able to play it day in and day out (like a lot of people in my age group seem to have)... for many, I know Settlers was their first non-American style game, and it had a deep impact. I like it well enough, but it missed my sweet-spot in that regard.

Better than playing Monopoly, at any rate.

Nah, Settlers was my first not-Milton-Bradley style of board game and I experienced it my Freshman year of College, and I just didn't get into it either. I tried a few games with my friends in College, and the ones that really stuck with me were Arkham Horror, Shadows Over Camelot, Munchkin and Mall of Horror.