Board Games

[Wolfpack]

Originally Posted by ShaneTheMaster

Been having Takaido sitting on my shelf for almost a year, and we finally broke it out, and enjoyed it.. Been playing it online a lot. Great gateway game.

Originally Posted by cschex

It's a good lightweight family game and it is just really relaxing to play. If you can, track down the Crossroads expansion - it adds strategic depth and replay-ability to it without making it overly complex

I actually found this as a last-second gift for my oldest daughter, who in the past year has really taken to Japanese culture in a big way. We've had a chance to play it once, just me and her, and we both had fun with it. The two player variant does introduce a bit of strategy since the game uses a dummy third player that is moved by either of the real players, which leads to interesting choices as the game moves along and one player or the other tries to amass collections for points. I was able to twig to using the dummy as a blocker sooner than she did so I pulled away by the end. She's asked to play it again, but time has been a bit scarce of late. It'll happen though. Not sure my middle daughter has the patience or understanding quite yet to see how to play this game (she's also not the best loser), but I'd still like to see how it plays with all live players. I know the Crossroads expansion exists, but I've read it can lengthen the game a bit with all the choices, something we may not quite be ready for.

[Fidatelo]

Originally Posted by PurdueBrad

Hey Fidatelo-

I've had Lords of Vegas on my shelf for a while along with Vegas Showdown (a similar game) but haven't busted either out yet.

Did you play it? If so, what were your thoughts?

Unfortunately no. We ended up watching hockey, then football, and then one guy had to leave so the remaining 3 of us just played Nidhogg for an hour or so. Hopefully I can get it to the table in a few weeks.

[ShaneTheMaster]

Originally Posted by Wolfpack

I actually found this as a last-second gift for my oldest daughter, who in the past year has really taken to Japanese culture in a big way. We've had a chance to play it once, just me and her, and we both had fun with it. The two player variant does introduce a bit of strategy since the game uses a dummy third player that is moved by either of the real players, which leads to interesting choices as the game moves along and one player or the other tries to amass collections for points. I was able to twig to using the dummy as a blocker sooner than she did so I pulled away by the end. She's asked to play it again, but time has been a bit scarce of late. It'll happen though. Not sure my middle daughter has the patience or understanding quite yet to see how to play this game (she's also not the best loser), but I'd still like to see how it plays with all live players. I know the Crossroads expansion exists, but I've read it can lengthen the game a bit with all the choices, something we may not quite be ready for.

Yea, we've stayed away from buying the expansion, as I don't think it meshes well with the original, it feels like it was crow barred into the game. If it added more spaces to the road or something it would have been better...but it makes it more confusing, and isn't as straight forward.

[Coffee Warlord]

Originally Posted by PurdueBrad

Hey Fidatelo-

I've had Lords of Vegas on my shelf for a while along with Vegas Showdown (a similar game) but haven't busted either out yet.

Did you play it? If so, what were your thoughts?

Read my posts, man!

My group enjoyed Lords of Vegas, even the people who usually hate that genre of game. Even on our first playthrough, it moves pretty fast.

[PurdueBrad]

Originally Posted by Coffee Warlord

Read my posts, man!

My group enjoyed Lords of Vegas, even the people who usually hate that genre of game. Even on our first playthrough, it moves pretty fast.

Crap, overlooked them CW. I'm going back to find them now.

[Thomkal]

A new way to find what kind of board games you will like:

Pick the Best Board Game to Play in Any Situation with This Flow Chart

[albionmoonlight]

Played Seven Wonders this weekend. Liked it a lot. The fact that you could obtain resources from your neighbors (and vice versa) and that you passed the hand after each turn made for a more interesting dynamic than just worrying about your own cards and board. You had to see what your neighbors were doing, too.

And I thought that the game did a good job of making every part of the game (science, resources, military) balanced enough that it rewarded different approaches.

And, because players take turns at the same time, the gameplay is pretty quick. Not much time of sitting around waiting for someone else to play.

Finally, because the hands go around, there is certainly value in memorizing the cards so that you know what your opponent has in his hand on any given turn. I was still learning, so I did not take that next step, but it certainly seems like a game that would reward that extra effort.

[Vince, Pt. II]

I'm sad that most of my gaming group isn't a fan of 7 Wonders. My roommate and I love the game, but her boyfriend (our other roommate) can't stand it. The rest of our group is pretty ambivalent, so because Tony doesn't like it the game doesn't find the table very often.

[tarcone]

One of my group just played this with his family and they all really enjoyed it. It hasn't hot the table with our group. But this Sunday, 4 of us are getting together. And he is bringing it. Should be interesting.

[dzilla77]

Anybody play Roll for the Galaxy? Its new from the designers of (you guessed it) Race for the Galaxy. The objectives are very similar but you roll dice to see what you get to do.

My buddy picked it up and we are planning on playing it at my Boardgaming Extravaganza this weekend. I'll try to post a brief review.

[cschex]

Originally Posted by dzilla77

Anybody play Roll for the Galaxy? Its new from the designers of (you guessed it) Race for the Galaxy. The objectives are very similar but you roll dice to see what you get to do.

My buddy picked it up and we are planning on playing it at my Boardgaming Extravaganza this weekend. I'll try to post a brief review.

Got to play a couple of five player games of it at my local meetup last weekend. For reference, I own Race and have about 50 plays (mostly two player) and am quite taken with it. That being said, I think Roll is going to replace it in my collection. It takes a slight bit of explanation for new gamers or folks unfamiliar with Race, though not nearly as much to grok as Race, but it is very easy to pick up and it is just so smooth. The dual sided tiles and having to buy the dice back are two mechanics that really add additional decisions and strategic layers. It's probably my favorite new game I've played since Kemet. I hope y'all enjoy it

[ColtCrazy]

Originally Posted by Thomkal

A new way to find what kind of board games you will like:

Pick the Best Board Game to Play in Any Situation with This Flow Chart

Hardest rules ever is Axis & Allies? Definitely not made by a wargamer.

[Vince, Pt. II]

Originally Posted by cschex

Got to play a couple of five player games of it at my local meetup last weekend. For reference, I own Race and have about 50 plays (mostly two player) and am quite taken with it. That being said, I think Roll is going to replace it in my collection. It takes a slight bit of explanation for new gamers or folks unfamiliar with Race, though not nearly as much to grok as Race, but it is very easy to pick up and it is just so smooth. The dual sided tiles and having to buy the dice back are two mechanics that really add additional decisions and strategic layers. It's probably my favorite new game I've played since Kemet. I hope y'all enjoy it

Nice, I'll have to look into it. Love Race for the Galaxy.

[dzilla77]

Originally Posted by cschex

Got to play a couple of five player games of it at my local meetup last weekend. For reference, I own Race and have about 50 plays (mostly two player) and am quite taken with it. That being said, I think Roll is going to replace it in my collection. It takes a slight bit of explanation for new gamers or folks unfamiliar with Race, though not nearly as much to grok as Race, but it is very easy to pick up and it is just so smooth. The dual sided tiles and having to buy the dice back are two mechanics that really add additional decisions and strategic layers. It's probably my favorite new game I've played since Kemet. I hope y'all enjoy it

Cool, after reading the rules today, I am really looking forward to it.

[Fidatelo]

I ordered BattleCON: Devastation of Indines on the weekend, should show up later this week. I'm pretty excited, it looks like a lot of fun.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Has anyone played Legendary Encounter: An Alien Deck Building Game?

I just read about it over on Rock, Paper, Shotgun and bought it pretty much immediately.

A co-op, Alien/Aliens-based, deck building game? I can't CAN'T own such a game.

[Wolfpack]

Originally Posted by ColtCrazy

Hardest rules ever is Axis & Allies? Definitely not made by a wargamer.

I saw that too and chuckled a little. Either that or this is for casual gamers and it's pretty much implied that any wargame you have on your shelf is orders of magnitude more complex than that and there's no chance in hell any casual gamer would play them so why bother. A&A is about as far as they're likely to go.

[ColtCrazy]

Originally Posted by Wolfpack

I saw that too and chuckled a little. Either that or this is for casual gamers and it's pretty much implied that any wargame you have on your shelf is orders of magnitude more complex than that and there's no chance in hell any casual gamer would play them so why bother. A&A is about as far as they're likely to go.

Very true!! Although we recently got a couple of non-gaming teacher friends to join us to learn how to play the Battle of the Five Armies. I'm sure it helped they were fans of the Hobbit, but still they got hooked and want to play more games.

20 years ago, Axis & Allies probably was THE only intro war game you could get casual gamers into. Now, there are so many other options that might work.

[cschex]

Originally Posted by Honolulu_Blue

Has anyone played Legendary Encounter: An Alien Deck Building Game?

I just read about it over on Rock, Paper, Shotgun and bought it pretty much immediately.

A co-op, Alien/Aliens-based, deck building game? I can't CAN'T own such a game.

I really enjoy Legendary Marvel (and love the theme much more than I care about Aliens) but I think Legendary Aliens is the superior co-op game. It's really good, quite difficult and you really have to emphasize teamwork or you die horribly. If you like Aliens and co-op games, you will almost certainly like this

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by cschex

If you like Aliens and co-op games, you will almost certainly like this

These are two of my favorite things, so... yes!

[APC]

The Green Bay Packers recently discovered Settlers of Catan.

http://www.courier-journal.com/story...amas/21806935/

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by APC

The Green Bay Packers recently discovered Settlers of Catan.

http://www.courier-journal.com/story...amas/21806935/

I'm clearly missing the joke. Unless this is what you meant to paste instead and had an oops?

http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-pack...ion-1421346102

[APC]

Originally Posted by SackAttack

I'm clearly missing the joke. Unless this is what you meant to paste instead and had an oops?

http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-pack...ion-1421346102

Doh! My bad. Copy and paste fail.

[Thomkal]

Originally Posted by SackAttack

I'm clearly missing the joke. Unless this is what you meant to paste instead and had an oops?

http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-pack...ion-1421346102

Love that this article is trending on Facebook. I imagine the games publisher does too

[dzilla77]

I just wrapped up board gaming weekend, this past weekend. I got to play a lot of new (to me) games courtesy of my buddy from Indiana. I will review them below:

Roll for the Galaxy – This is published by Rio Grande Games who also publishes Race for the Galaxy. Roll for the Galaxy is very similar to Race for the Galaxy, except that instead of using cards, you use dice, lots and lots of dice. The game concepts are very much the same – it’s a VP game and you generate VP by building developments, settling worlds and consuming goods (just like Race), but you resources are dice and money. Two things I like about Roll over Race is that it is a little easier to teach and it plays much quicker (45 minutes for a 5 player game.)

Machi Koro – This game is best described as a cross between Settlers of Catan meets dominion. The object of the game is to build your 4 structures (each player has the same 4) which cost a varying amount of money and provide a benefit when they are completed. There are 16 income generating cards that you can buy. Each card is triggered by 1 or 2 numbers which are rolled on the dice. Initially you start with 1 die and can add the second die when you complete you least expensive structure. Some of the cards only generate income for you. Some cards generate income for everyone who has that card and some cards force you to play other players who have that card. After you roll and collect income, you may purchase 1 card and put it in play. This game plays quickly, but is very highly luck dependent, so if you don’t like games where the dice heavily influence the outcome you might not like this game.

One Night Ultimate Werewolf – I think this game might have been talked about earlier up thread, but I give a brief synopsis. If you like Werewolf, you will really like this game. The game comes with a smart phone app, which can take the place of a narrator (a big plus over regular werewolf). The objective is the same as werewolf. Lynch a villager, the werewolves win. Lynch a werewolf and do not lynch a villager (ties will lynch both), village wins. What makes this work for one night, is that everyone knows what they are at the start of the game, but because certain roles allow peoples’ cards to be switched, you don’t know what you are at the end of the game. The game plays quick (you can change the length by changing the timer length on the smart phone app. The only drawback is that you really have to be around a table to play this game, so you can’t just sit around the campfire and play.

Son’s of Anarchy – I don’t watch the show so I can’t say if they captured the flavor well or not. I can say that the game is fun. The objective is to accumulate money by exploiting locations or selling bags of stuff and/or guns. It is a worker placement game at its heart and played quickly with 3 players (2 of which didn’t know how to play). There are a lot of locations and “event” cards, only some of which get used each game so it is highly variable and has a lot of replayability.

Nothing Personal – this is a worker placement game at its heart, with a mafia based theme, although instead of workers, you are placing influence on mobsters to try to accumulate respect (VP) and cash. You place influence by playing cards which direct you where you can place influence. After everyone has played one card, the price of playing a card can be changed by any player by declaring it and paying the cost they just declared. Each mobster generates respect or cash for you based on their personal rating which is then influenced by their position in the organization. Also, each position in the organization has an ability which is resolved after respect and cash are handed out. These abilities range for whacking another mobster, to re-arranging influence tokens on mobsters. Mobsters are taken out of play by whacking them or sending them to jail if they have more than a certain number or influence markers on them. I was lukewarm on this game. I think I need a couple more plays to decide if I will like it or not.

We also played Forbidden Island which is a nice simple coop game.

Roll for the Galaxy, Machi Koro and Ultimate Werewolf got lots of plays this weekend.

[tarcone]

We also had a game day yesterday. 4 of us got together. Played a few games.

We started with 7 Wonders. I was surprised. Its a really good game. Quick, decisions to make. Different strategies. Good stuff. I ended up winning with a balanced strategy.

Then we moved to Tiny Epic Kingdoms. This was okay. Its not as epic as I thought. I had fun, but it didnt meet expectations. I KSed Tiny Epic Galaxies. I hope it is better then Kingdoms.

Then on to the meatier game of the day. We played Fire in the Lake. The most complex game in the COIN series. I liked it. It has a different feel then Cuba Libre and A Distant Plain (the others Ive played). Its a lot of fun, and I like the game. We played a short game. But I want to get into a long game to see how it plays out.

One guy left. With 3 we played Race for the Galaxy. This game is not one of my favorites. I wil play it because the others like it. But I never get into it. Its almost too fast. Seems like when im getting my strategy lined up, the game is over.

Another guy left, leaving 2. We broke out 1775: Rebellion. I havent played this one in awhile. And i really forgot how much fun it is. Quick, light war game. Area control. Card driven. Good stuff. I was the British and lost. But really enjoyed the game. We messed up a rule, I think. We were killing guys when they should have fled, I believe. Shooting them in the back as it were. I need to check that.

Great day. Looking forward to the next one.

[Buccaneer]

I still enjoy this thread to see what games you guys are playing so I can check for an iOS version.

Still playing lots of Brief History of the World and Puerto Rico with some Forbidden Island and Catan.

On the card game side, I've been obsessed with Dead Man's Draw, a clever, addicting push-your-luck card game with events, made by Stardock.

[tarcone]

I just picked up Eclipse for the iPad. Playing the tutorial. Looks like i might enjoy it more then the board game.

Also, I saw a game that looks like Axis and Allies. Its called Ambition; The Strategy War game. It has no reviews to it. Im really intrigued, but not sure I want to spend the $4. I know, i know. Cheap dude.
Anyone played it?

[PadresFan104]

Shameless self-promotion for a video I uploaded showing off the components for the latest release of the Second Season Football board game. Looking forward to pre-playing SuperBowl XLIX...

Second Season Football Unbagging Video - YouTube

Al

[ColtCrazy]

Originally Posted by PadresFan104

Shameless self-promotion for a video I uploaded showing off the components for the latest release of the Second Season Football board game. Looking forward to pre-playing SuperBowl 49...

Second Season Football Unbagging Video - YouTube

Al

Sweet. I'll check it out after work. I just posted my review of the game on my Field Generals blog. I'll probably do an update once I get ahold of the updated game. It's a very good game.

[ColtCrazy]

Had my beginning of the year mini-spree. Got the following games on the way:

Field Commander Nimitz
No Peace for Spain
C&C Austrian Army & Prussian Army
War & Peace
Napoleon (Columbia Games)
Tiger Leader
and my Paths to Glory P500 is getting shipped out soon.

After this, nothing else on the horizon for 2015 I want other than any of my P500 things that get (re)printed and the kickstarter for the reprint of Age of Empires.

- Been playing lots of Masters of the Gridiron lately. Fun little football card game.

[CraigSca]

Originally Posted by PadresFan104

Shameless self-promotion for a video I uploaded showing off the components for the latest release of the Second Season Football board game. Looking forward to pre-playing SuperBowl XLIX...

Second Season Football Unbagging Video - YouTube

Al

Good video - can't wait to get mine (apparently this week!). Subscribed to your channel as well!

[ColtCrazy]

Entertaining video, thanks for sharing! Not sure I'd get much use out of the instant results cards, but I'm loving the streamlined book. And Seattle's Defense…WOW!

[Poli]

I've got to catch up in this thread.

[PadresFan104]

Originally Posted by ColtCrazy

Entertaining video, thanks for sharing! Not sure I'd get much use out of the instant results cards, but I'm loving the streamlined book. And Seattle's Defense…WOW!

Thanks! Just posted another one...

Second Season - 2015 Components Impressions - YouTube

[APC]

What's the consensus best tabletop football game? Or tabletop sports game in general?

[PurdueBrad]

Originally Posted by APC

What's the consensus best tabletop football game? Or tabletop sports game in general?

I know that for me, my current favorites (really a combination of solid results, interesting gameplay and intuitive design) are:

Second Season Football from Plaay (my new version is on its way!!!)

Red, White and Blue Racing from Plaay (I've probably had the most fun of any tabletop sports game with this one)

For baseball, I'm torn between Strat and History Maker. I like Strat's results but I don't feel that the game is as exciting/interesting. History Maker is a great play but I'm not sure the results are necessarily where I want them to be.

I think my next purchase will be a hockey game, just not sure which.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by PurdueBrad

Red, White and Blue Racing from Plaay (I've probably had the most fun of any tabletop sports game with this one)

Been tempted by it more than once, never pulled the trigger.

Plaay probably has my all-time most fun tts game though: Roller Rumble

If you're old enough to remember the T-Birds, the classics & legends cards make it a blast & it does a great job of handling the action in a manner that feels "right".

[PurdueBrad]

Hey JimGa-

I own Roller Rumble and the demolition derby game but am yet to break them out. While it's a niche game, I've LOVED the times we've played the bowling game that PLAAY put out as well.

I do remember the classic Roller Derby teams and may have to break that out very, very soon!

[tarcone]

Demolition Derby game? Where?

[ColtCrazy]

Originally Posted by APC

What's the consensus best tabletop football game? Or tabletop sports game in general?

Of the ones I've reviewed in my blog, I like 4th Street Football the best. It's got a lot of depth, actual play cards, and really handles match ups well. I gave it a 10.

If you want something that's not as complicated but still very good, then go with Second Season. Not as many components, simple and smooth game play. Gave it a 9, but after Padres video the enhanced book may bump up my score once I get my hands on a copy. It seems much more streamlined.

[PadresFan104]

Originally Posted by PurdueBrad

For baseball, I'm torn between Strat and History Maker. I like Strat's results but I don't feel that the game is as exciting/interesting. History Maker is a great play but I'm not sure the results are necessarily where I want them to be.

History Maker is my baseball game of choice (currently winding down a 1977 Phillies project), and yes, you need to be able to sacrifice a certain level of statistical accuracy to enjoy the game. But, to be fair, that was Keith's point when making the game. It's a view of the season from the start - looking ahead - as opposed to the other games which use the stats to look back and reproduce what really happened.

That said, I am very happy with the way the Phillies have played through 134 games. I have them performing only 1 game better than real life at this point in the season. Batting average for the team is dead on, but there are players hitting up to .020 worse than they did in real life, and others .020 better. There's also some crazy stuff like Schmidt striking out a LOT more than real life, but everyone else's numbers are fine. And Carlton has struggled to keep his ERA below 4.00. I like the fact that as a "manager" I've had to deal with unforeseen issues, and that the game has strategic choices for me to make to offset problems or capitalize on advantages.

In the end, HMB is more of a game than a simulation, and that's the charm.

[PadresFan104]

Originally Posted by tarcone

Demolition Derby game? Where?

It's called Demo Derby Smash-Down it's published by PLAAY.com games. Keith was planning to discontinue the game, but a recent uptake in interest has him looking into a limited re-issue. You may want to send him an e-mail for more info: info @ plaay dot com

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by PadresFan104

It's called Demo Derby Smash-Down it's published by PLAAY.com games. Keith was planning to discontinue the game, but a recent uptake in interest has him looking into a limited re-issue. You may want to send him an e-mail for more info: info @ plaay dot com

I had no idea about plaay.com. Definitely going to buy some of these games. Thanks!

[APC]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

I had no idea about plaay.com. Definitely going to buy some of these games. Thanks!

I'm intrigued as well, but I can't see myself enjoying these games solo (I've got FOF, Action PC and OOTP for solo play). I'd need to play them against somebody and I don't know anybody as nerdy as me that would want to play me

[CraigSca]

If you're looking for simulations, my favorites are from insidesports.com. Their baseball game in particular embraces the DIPS model and doesn't suffer the problems replicating statistical outliers like the typical 50/50 models out there.

PLAAY.com's games are great because they are more attribute based than tried and true ratings. As Padres mentioned above, you lose a "little" accuracy, but who's to say a model that replicates statistics dead-on is really accurate, anyway? For instance - let's say we're trying to create a Roger Maris of 1961. A "statistically accurate" game will create a card that replicates 61 home runs. However, random numbers means it actually generates a bell curve with the mean at 61 home runs. Is this really accurate? Now, the normal is 61 and an outlier could very well be 71. Wasn't 61 HRs an outlier in itself?

[tarcone]

Statis Pro Baseball and Basketball are my favorite sports sims. Ive been looking for March Madness, but haven't come across a copy yet. I want to replicate NCAA tourneys, badly.

[PadresFan104]

Originally Posted by APC

I'm intrigued as well, but I can't see myself enjoying these games solo (I've got FOF, Action PC and OOTP for solo play). I'd need to play them against somebody and I don't know anybody as nerdy as me that would want to play me

Good post. Back in the 70's and 80's I would play Strat-o-Matic and Statis Pro baseball coaching both teams since I didn't have any siblings or friends who were interested. I eventually graduated to Micro League Sports and then Diamond Mind and OOTP.

About 8 years ago I realized that I spend all day on a computer for work and was no longer interested in logging even more hours on the computer at home, so I started looking into tabletop sports games again and have been hooked. I've also branched out into games from other genres, both solitaire and "gasp" with other humans.

Anyway, most sports games these days can be played just as well solo as with other people. With tabletop gaming though, it's more about the journey (spending a quiet evening rolling the dice) than the destination (churning through multiple seasons).

Al

[PadresFan104]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

I had no idea about plaay.com. Definitely going to buy some of these games. Thanks!

Cool! And if you want to see what the community is like, head on over to the Delphi forums, lots of activity....

[tarcone]

I forgot Plaay was redesigning Titlebout. I loved that game. It disappeared in my travels. I really miss that game. Its a classic.

Also, I want to throw out a game company that makes dice sports games. They are based in Australia, but the games are cheap and the size would make shipping relatively inexpensive.
The games are light, but look fun. I havent purchased one yet, but they have caught my eye. I have to up my gaming budget before I jump on these.

Pocket Sports