Board Games

[Vince, Pt. II]

Originally Posted by rowech

I had her look at boardgame geeks top games and she wants to try either 7 Wonders or Carasconne. Thoughts about these games for only two players?

Carcassone makes a fine two player game. It's a little stronger with 3, but works just fine with only two.

[Matthean]

Originally Posted by tarcone

Groan

This is why I create a wishlist with rankings. I started looking at Level 7: Omega Protocol and decided it would rank #4 at best so I'll hold off on it. I continue to write off Mythic Battles despite Marco's love for it.

[Matthean]

Speaking of said wishlist, found the upgrade pack from first to second edition for War of the Ring in stock and at a decent price. Add in the expansion for Keyflower on the cheap and it was unlikely I was going to find both for a better deal even with shipping factored in. I figure the upgrade pack is going away at some point and not coming back. The places that have it don't seem to have that many copies left, and I doubt there's that many reprints left.

Sad to hear Colby say The Vindicators is no more since he can't get the game to be where he wants it to be. I'm back to selling myself on Sentinels of the Multiverse, which I can't seem to do, or still waiting on the one true superhero game worth getting.

[tarcone]

Forgot to mention this earlier. Nexus Ops is on clearance at Minature Market. $28. Not as good as the FFG Christmas sale, but still a great price. Shipping is free for a $100 purchase.

Nexus Ops Clearance

[Matthean]

If you can't get free shipping, Amazon with Prime might be cheaper due to MM's shipping costs.

[britrock88]

Originally Posted by rowech

I had her look at boardgame geeks top games and she wants to try either 7 Wonders or Carasconne. Thoughts about these games for only two players?

Carcassonne is excellent for 2 players. Nothing about the game changes other than the number of people competing to get their meeples on the various city features.

[Umbrella]

Originally Posted by rowech

For some reason my wife suggested we buy a board game. I think part of this is her teaching social studies for the first time and now she has an interest in games built around such things. So -- what would people recommend? It is likely to be just us two playing which I'm guessing could make a difference in such games.

Dominion makes a great 2 player game, and a lot of people think it is very wife friendly if she isn't really a gamer. The expansions add a lot to it, but even the basic game is a lot of fun. One of those "easy to learn, hard to master" type games.

[mckerney]

Originally Posted by rowech

For some reason my wife suggested we buy a board game. I think part of this is her teaching social studies for the first time and now she has an interest in games built around such things. So -- what would people recommend? It is likely to be just us two playing which I'm guessing could make a difference in such games.

I was going to suggest 1960: The Making of the President for a have relating to social studies, but going by the prices for it online it appears to be out of print.

[Matthean]

Lewis and Clack is being picked up by Asmodee. The new printing will be out in March with a retail of $45. This should put it near $30 for CSI, which is a really good price on a quality game.

[rowech]

We bought Carcassone and played the first time tonight. We both enjoyed it. There is one part I'm not sure we're playing right. Say one person has a claim on a city that will get them five tiles at ten points when it is complete. They have it claimed with four tiles laid. Then their opponent draws a tile that will finish the city. Can they play the tile to finish the city, then place their follower on that city, and therefore neutralize the opponent by giving both people the points or does placing the tile give the points to the original owner?

[Solecismic]

Originally Posted by rowech

We bought Carcassone and played the first time tonight. We both enjoyed it. There is one part I'm not sure we're playing right. Say one person has a claim on a city that will get them five tiles at ten points when it is complete. They have it claimed with four tiles laid. Then their opponent draws a tile that will finish the city. Can they play the tile to finish the city, then place their follower on that city, and therefore neutralize the opponent by giving both people the points or does placing the tile give the points to the original owner?

No. When placing a follower, you must place him (or her) on the tile you just placed AND it must be an element (city/farm/road/etc) that does not already have a follower.

Contention only results when two separate elements that both already have followers are joined by the placement of a tile. So if you want to share in a big city, you have to place a follower on a new or separate city, then hope you draw the tiles necessary to join that partial city to the big partial city.

[Solecismic]

Originally Posted by mckerney

I was going to suggest 1960: The Making of the President for a have relating to social studies, but going by the prices for it online it appears to be out of print.

I have been waiting for this one for a long time. Doesn't look good.

[rowech]

Originally Posted by Solecismic

No. When placing a follower, you must place him (or her) on the tile you just placed AND it must be an element (city/farm/road/etc) that does not already have a follower.

Contention only results when two separate elements that both already have followers are joined by the placement of a tile. So if you want to share in a big city, you have to place a follower on a new or separate city, then hope you draw the tiles necessary to join that partial city to the big partial city.

Thank you. Definitely will change the game.

[CleBrownsfan]

Played 3 player Nations last night. My favorite civ game by far. We all played on the basic A side (everyone starts off the same). I had a real nice mix of military and culture but had zero stability. It worked out pretty well - I won scoring 43 points in the end.

It took 3 hours but my one buddy took probably 5 minute per turn - which was pretty frustrating!

[Vince, Pt. II]

Originally Posted by CleBrownsfan

Played 3 player Nations last night. My favorite civ game by far. We all played on the basic A side (everyone starts off the same). I had a real nice mix of military and culture but had zero stability. It worked out pretty well - I won scoring 43 points in the end.

It took 3 hours but my one buddy took probably 5 minute per turn - which was pretty frustrating!

AP (Analysis Paralysis) is a bitch

One of my old college roommates is a regular at our game nights, and he was brutally slow (but a very, very good board game player). We've razzed him enough about it that he's one of the fastest players we've got now. And his game playing ability has hardly suffered.

[tarcone]

I am almost finished with reading the rule book for The Supreme Commander.
Im on example of gameplay, page 48. Of course the scenarios take up about 12 pages between the end of the rules and the beginning of the example of play. It took me about a week to plug through it. I think I am going to re-read it, then start playing. Maybe.

Im not a great rule book reader. More of a visual learner. But I want to get into war games and this is something I need to learn how to do. Plus, I think it will help keep my brain functioning.

I will tell you, this looks to be a fantastic game. I cant wait to play. It dies have lots of little things to remember and I imagine I will be living in the rule book as I play.

I have a stack of games to learn how to play. I think that will stall buying anymore for awhile.

[Vince, Pt. II]

I'm intrigued to hear your thoughts tarcone. I've been interested in war games for a while, but haven't had the impetus to actually get into them yet. Following along as you do it will help, I think.

[Matthean]

I think I'll get into wargaming via games that can be soled like the COIN series or maybe even Conflict of Heroes with the expansion that let's you solo. I have downgraded Sekigahara for now since I think I'll just play War of the Ring with friends instead.

Myth got a rave review from the Dice Tower, but I'm still wait and see. It was nice to find out much of the KS exclusives will be available later.

[ColtCrazy]

Got Merchants & Marauders in from CSI and have been playing it during our snow break. It's a fantastic game and plays pretty well with a solo variant. Definitely worth it if you like the pirate theme at all.

[Matthean]

[Vince, Pt. II]

Played a new game that I had never even heard of before last night - Carnival Zombie. Co-op game with a bunch of cubes. No dice rolling; only a few events are random an are resolved through a deck of cards. It's sort of like Pandemic, with the theme of Arkham Horror.

The story is you're a troupe of carnival players in Venice. Well, the Leviathan underneath Venice has awoken, and the city is sinking into the Mediterranean. Not only that, zombies and other demonic denizens are swarming the city. Your goal is to either escape the city or defeat the Leviathan.

There are four rounds of game play, and two phases to each round: night and day. At night, your squad can only hope to hunker down and fight off the hordes of creatures, while during the day you can maneuver throughout the city, fortify your position, or try to acquire items. The board is mainly made up of the central area, which represents the location you try to survive at each night. Around the edges of the board are a key for what each monster's stats are (damage done, health and movement speed), and a small map of lines and circles that represents the city of Venice and tracks your team's position within the city. No matter where you end up in Venice, the center area is static, so every night is basically the same. The only variation is that certain locations contained randomized "obstacles" that modify the map. This is probably the weakest feature of the game, in my opinion. There are only four different kinds of obstacles, and over the course of our game, we saw each one multiple times.

At night, your team sits in the center of the board and waves of cubes (representing the bad guys) spawn on the outer edges of the circle and meander towards the players. There are four quadrants, with each having two corresponding lanes that the monsters come down. So effectively, there are four spaces on the board your characters have the option of moving between.

Each phase (day and night) is divided into four turns. At night, the turns have four parts: 1. Spawn Monsters. 2. Move monsters. 3. Player turns. 4. Monsters attack.

A Player's turn can consist of up to three things: move, attack or use a special action. Players have one of 6 unique roles, and each has their own special actions. They're free to perform, but certain conditions must be met. On their turn, each player has one free move or attack. If they so choose, they can take one stress (damage) to do a second action.

The game does have one gimmicky mechanic that I'm not sure I like. Any time you kill a monster, you have to drop its cube onto a small cardboard tombstone lying flat on the table. You can drop it from any height. If you kill multiple monsters, you drop them all simultaneously. All cubes stay on the tombstone wherever they fall, until the night is over. Any cubes that fall off the tombstone are immediately resurrected back onto the board. At first, this is no big deal. But after you have killed thirty monsters and they're all piled on this little two inch by three inch tombstone, it gets hectic. Especially when you're trying to clear away an entire lane so you can run away without getting hurt. Considering 72-ish monsters spawn every night, it always gets pretty cluttered. It adds a bit of drama, but it's...I don't know. Gimmicky is the best I can come up with.

Once night ends, the players flee the area - they have to choose a cardinal direction, based upon where they want to go (on the little line and dot map of Venice). Any creatures remaining in their path get a free attack - so there is some strategy as to which way you're going to go and how you're going to kill the bad guys. Once you flee, all the monsters on the board are removed and the day starts.

During the day, you have another four turns. There are no monsters, so this is a catch your breath time. That being said, there's never enough time to do everything you want. You can move through the city - but if you do, you can't rest to regenerate stress (life) or find items to help you deal with the raging hordes the following night.

We played on medium, tried to kill the Leviathan rather than running away, and failed. We got quite close - it wasn't until the very last turn that we died. The holy hand grenade had been primed, we just had to survive. But we were killed pretty handily on that last turn.

Overall, I enjoyed it. Going to take another play through to see how it really holds up. In the end, I didn't like it as much as many of our other games, though, so I don't know when we'll give it another shot.

[bob]

Can someone give me a brief run down of Munchkin - I know the basic rule mechanics, but there are something like 37,000 different Munchkin sets - what do I really need to try the game out? I assume just buying the original set is enough, but is there some general though that Munchin + set x + set y makes the best gaming experience?

[Vince, Pt. II]

Basic set is all I've ever played. I think they're really only just flavor.

[tarcone]

Yes, you can play with the basic set.
I added the steed and the companion (name escapes me) set. That gives you extra power with an animal to ride and another guy to carry stuff. Those are poitive additions to the game. I, also, bought a dungeon add-on. It adds things to the dungeon. Its pretty fun.

But the basic set is plenty.

[Galaril]

I just saw a very postive review for Arabian Nights and it looks great but not sure I want to drop 70-80 bucks on it . Any played the original or the newer version?

[Vince, Pt. II]

Can't say that I have Galaril.

Anyone have first hand experience with Libertalia? My group is looking for more 'quick' games, and I've read some great things.

I'm starting to wish there was some way to 'rent' board games, so my group can try before we buy. I have so many that we've played once or twice and then never again. But I like them all, so I'm reluctant to get rid of any. Rough life

[Matthean]

Originally Posted by Vince, Pt. II

I'm starting to wish there was some way to 'rent' board games, so my group can try before we buy. I have so many that we've played once or twice and then never again. But I like them all, so I'm reluctant to get rid of any. Rough life

Home page

I've never used it though.

[tarcone]

Originally Posted by Vince, Pt. II

Can't say that I have Galaril.

Anyone have first hand experience with Libertalia? My group is looking for more 'quick' games, and I've read some great things.

I'm starting to wish there was some way to 'rent' board games, so my group can try before we buy. I have so many that we've played once or twice and then never again. But I like them all, so I'm reluctant to get rid of any. Rough life

Something else your group can do is go to your FLGS and play them there. I have gone to some game nights at the one around me and they have 100s of games you can sit down and play. That may be an option.

[Matthean]

Originally Posted by tarcone

Something else your group can do is go to your FLGS and play them there. I have gone to some game nights at the one around me and they have 100s of games you can sit down and play. That may be an option.

If you mean due to people bringing games then I can see that. A store having 100s of games in demo form is something I haven't even remotely seen. I have seen more in the range of 30-40 at best. Find local gaming groups and Cons. I thankfully have two Cons that happen within walking distance of me.

[tarcone]

I mean 100s of games. Not like 900 but 100-200, I imagine. Not all new titles, obviously. But there were some things I wanted to try, for sure.

Tales of the Arabian Nights is going for $40.99 at CSI.

Search for "Tales of the Arabian Nights Board Game" | CoolStuffInc.com online retailer of board games, mtg and many other collectible card games

[Fidatelo]

Originally Posted by Galaril

I just saw a very postive review for Arabian Nights and it looks great but not sure I want to drop 70-80 bucks on it . Any played the original or the newer version?

I played Tales of Arabian Nights once and had a blast, but it is very much a trip on a rail road. There is a lot to see but you have little to no control, and I imagine it would lose it's lustre after a few plays.

[Galaril]

Originally Posted by Fidatelo

I played Tales of Arabian Nights once and had a blast, but it is very much a trip on a rail road. There is a lot to see but you have little to no control, and I imagine it would lose it's lustre after a few plays.

Thanks. Replay is very important but with 2000 stories in the book it would seem to have legs. [i]f the mechanics of the game make it bring [i] guess that is another story.

[CleBrownsfan]

I own and have played Arabian Nights a handful of times. Great story game - it has tons a playability. I personally like Agents of Smersh a little better. It's more co-op where AN is more - play for yourself.

[Glengoyne]

Originally Posted by Vince, Pt. II

Can't say that I have Galaril.

Anyone have first hand experience with Libertalia? My group is looking for more 'quick' games, and I've read some great things.

I think I've talked up Libertalia in this thread. I find it to be a lot of fun. It is quick and accessible, and I really haven't seen it over stay it's welcome.

In short everybody has the same ten cards to play from their hands at the start of a round. Once you play a card it is gone, but there are a few cards that let you retrieve played cards. So after a bit of time, or at least by the second round there will be some variation in players hands. Sometimes a card held over from the first round will pay big dividends in the final round. There are a lot of interesting ways to score points, and to screw with somebody else that is scoring points.

I like it a lot. The folks that it appeals to most are those that enjoy lighter games. It doesn't have much traction in my heavy gaming group that would much rather break out a copy of Le Havre or KeyFlower. The folks that like Munchkin, King of Tokyo, Seven Wonders, Smash Up, Sewer Pirats, Mascarade, Ticket To Ride, and a bunch of other light to medium titles love Libertalia.

Note: A couple of us "heavy" euro gamers also like Libertalia quite a bit.

[ColtCrazy]

Had a splurge on CSI and got FC: Rommel, Wilderness War, and 1775: Rebellion. Glad they came in today just in time to get snowed in! Went with Rommel first. Very fun solo game. Did poorly and lost the first French scenario, but rebounded and won the second time then beat the North Africa one by capturing Cairo. Wilderness War is up next.

[tarcone]

I love 1775: Rebellion. Easy but tense and semi dep. My 2013 game of the year.

I just made it through my 1st round of The Supreme Commander. The Germans just rolled over the Polish army. It was a slaughter. The French had ideas of invading Germany after they watched the Germans crush Poland. but the French just couldnt pull it off. Not strong enough. And the supply would have been rough.

I really like the game. Its a little mathy and there are things you need to watch out for with each country. But its a good one.

[Galaril]

Originally Posted by tarcone

I love 1775: Rebellion. Easy but tense and semi dep. My 2013 game of the year.

I just made it through my 1st round of The Supreme Commander. The Germans just rolled over the Polish army. It was a slaughter. The French had ideas of invading Germany after they watched the Germans crush Poland. but the French just couldnt pull it off. Not strong enough. And the supply would have been rough.

I really like the game. Its a little mathy and there are things you need to watch out for with each country. But its a good one.

Just got a new copy of 1775 in the mail and the components and rules are excellent.

[Matthean]

It is interesting to read how people like 1775 over 1812 and yet 1812 was given a number of positive reviews. It feels like 1775 allowed people to talk about what they didn't like in 1812.

[tarcone]

I found a game I used to have and lost somewhere along the way. Statis Pro Basketball the 1981 season. I have been looking for it in my basement and found the board but nothing else. So I started searching ebay and the BGG marketplace. A guy in Switzerland had it for $55, but the $48 shipping cost, it was too much.
I was searching today and entered it on Google. Good ol' Google. Noble Knight Games has it for $60. I couldnt resist. i have a lot of great memories of that game. And am looking for a solo sports game to play. And i was really wanting this one.

Cant wait for Reggie Theus and Adrian Dantley and Moses Malone and Dominique Wilkins to light it up again.

[ColtCrazy]

tarcone - If you want other seasons sometime, check out Phil Graham's website. He makes the cards using the original base-8 system (the one I personally prefer). I've ordered several different seasons off him. He does the FAC deck as well. His boards aren't the best, so I've ordered the game from ebay and use those boards.
Statis Pro Basketball and Superstar Baseball
His new site doesn't have a lot, but he emailed me a pdf of his sets. He does greatest team and college sets too.

[dzilla77]

Game night tonight. We had a small crowd, just 4 of us. One of the guys just bought Eldersign which is card only version of Arkham Horror. We enjoyed it immensely and it plays much quicker that Arkham. Terra Mystica hit the table for the second time and was a close game (all of us were within 10 points of each other). I think I gave away at least 10 VP which would have sealed the win. I'm loving all the different mechanics from other games that the designers implemented in this one. Can't wait to play it again.

[PadresFan104]

Had a great board-gaming weekend after some in-store and Amazon splurging this week...

Started by learning how to play 1775: Rebellion. This is a great game, but I don't have any interested opponents in the house so I don't think it will get played very often. I spent some time drafting solo-rules but in the end I gave up. To play this one solo you will just need to play both sides, which was fun to learn the game, but I don't know that I will do it again.

Then Saturday night the family played our first game of Tales of the Arabian Nights and we had a great time. Perfect game for a crowd that prefers less (no) strategy and just a good time. My poor wife ended the game as a destitute ape. This will see return visits to the table.

Finally, I bought a copy of Rallyman so that I could compete in a Rally on BGG.com. This game is FUN and is great solo. Start by performing a shakedown run to set a target time and then try to beat it. Again, no-one in the house is interested, but it's going to be fun submitting times and competing on-line. This game seems simple at first, but it rewards people with good driving sense. Highly recommended.

[tarcone]

I really enjoy 1775: Rebellion solo. I dont mind playing both sides and can detach myself pretty well. But I forget what cards each faction holds. So that helps. Every solo game I have had has been different adn excting. Give it another try.

Im up to my 8th round of The Supreme Commander. I really like this game. I have been posting my sessions on BGG. I post every 2 rounds, if your interested. It is kind of slow going right now. Germany has taken Poland and the Netherlands and is about to enter Belgium. Russia has annexed Finland and the Baltic States.
Again, this game is very cool. It is not counter heavy. Which is great.

[tarcone]

Statis Pro basketball came in the mail today. Its the 1981 version. And I still remember it. A slice of my childhood came back as I looked through the cards.
I have decided to have a draft and create a 12 team league with 2 6 team divisions.
I think a 32 game season with the top 2 teams in each division making the playoffs.

I was getting goosebumps looking at the cards I remember,

[ColtCrazy]

You'll have to post your standings and games. I'm working on a relegation league from the 79/80 teams. It's killing me not having much time the last week to get some games in to play.

[tarcone]

Man I have a game buying problem.

Jamaica is in stock (1 left) at Cardhaus. I jumped on it. I have wanted this game for awhile and its hard to come by.
CSI got over 20 copies in stock a couple weeks ago. Sold out in an hour.
MM got over 20 in stock a week ago. Sold out in an hour.

Cardhaus today. 2 were left and I got one. Now Im hoping my family will enjoy it.

[CleBrownsfan]

Originally Posted by tarcone

Man I have a game buying problem.

I have the buying games addiction too. Problem is I don't have time or people to play them

[Coffee Warlord]

Wife bought me Clash of Cultures for valentine's day. Civ-esque board game, made by the same guys who did Merchants & Marauders. Looks promising.

[Danny]

Originally Posted by Coffee Warlord

Wife bought me Clash of Cultures for valentine's day. Civ-esque board game, made by the same guys who did Merchants & Marauders. Looks promising.

A lot going on, but excellent game. Nice compliment to Sid Meiers civilization board game which I love

[tarcone]

CSI got 53 copies of Jamaica in today. They sold out in 45 minutes.

This game is tough to come by.