Board Games

[Pumpy Tudors]

Originally Posted by Honolulu_Blue

Huh. I've never heard Pandemic Legacy and Pandemic is one of my favorite games. I'll have to look into this. Thanks, Pumpy!

No sweat. I think you'll love it. If you run across it in a store and see a red box and a blue box, you can get either one. They're exactly the same game. They only made two different boxes in case people want to have two different campaigns going and want to be able to distinguish between the two.

I think the game has only been out for two weeks. If you love Pandemic, this game is worth every penny, IMHO.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by Pumpy Tudors

No sweat. I think you'll love it. If you run across it in a store and see a red box and a blue box, you can get either one. They're exactly the same game. They only made two different boxes in case people want to have two different campaigns going and want to be able to distinguish between the two.

I think the game has only been out for two weeks. If you love Pandemic, this game is worth every penny, IMHO.

This shit has been bought and will be arriving in two days, as per my Amazon Prime benefits!

[MIJB#19]

Originally Posted by Pumpy Tudors

Yes, the rulebook strongly suggests that you play with the core Pandemic rules for a few games before embarking on the campaign. With that said, you do not need to go get a copy of the regular Pandemic game. Out of the box, you can play Pandemic Legacy almost exactly like regular Pandemic. The rulebook tells you exactly what you need and don't need to play it that way. I could be a little more specific, but I don't want to spoil any surprises. I guess the short answer is that you can buy Pandemic Legacy, follow what the rulebook says, and after maybe 2 or 3 games, you can jump into the campaign.

The only thing I'd add to that is that once you've started on the campaign, it would be a little hard to "rewind" and play regular Pandemic from that box because - being a legacy game - you will have to alter elements of the game. For example, certain things that exist when you open the box will no longer exist once you're a few games into the campaign.

That's great information. Thanks, Pumpy!

[tarcone]

Legacy games are a genius marketing idea. Just genius. I think my group will be buying Risk Legacy again. Bang, another $45.

[Vince, Pt. II]

I'm about to buy my fifth copy of Risk: Legacy.

Also, I will be buying Pandemic Legacy this evening.

[Wolfpack]

Been getting into board gaming a bit more now that the girls are older and can play without too much guidance from the parents. Having a very young toddler around makes it challenging for the wife to get involved, but we've played Tokaido and Ticket to Ride recently and had fun (well aside from the second daughter bitterly complaining that she never wins).

I did find a very cool new use for my Surface just recently. I bought Ticket to Ride on Steam and all the DLC maps a while back during a Steam sale and have had it installed on the regular desktop. I'm not sure why I didn't consider it before, but I finally decided to install Steam on my Surface and now I have Ticket to Ride as a fully functional tablet game on there complete with all the same DLC maps. Since it can be played pass-and-play style, we now have new options to play the game. It's become popular enough that we will likely invest in getting some of the games (like Europe) as hard copies, but it's sweet to have it on the Surface now.

[Abe Sargent]

I reviewed a board game! For money!


Magic Board Game: History and Review by Abe Sargent | GatheringMagic.com - Magic: The Gathering Website

[MIJB#19]

Originally Posted by Vince, Pt. II

I'm about to buy my fifth copy of Risk: Legacy.

Without spoiling anything, is the replay value that good, despite knowing what the various packets contain?

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by MIJB#19

Without spoiling anything, is the replay value that good, despite knowing what the various packets contain?

I'm trying to figure out why you can't replay the game once you play it the first time. Can anyone help with this without spoiling anything?

[mckerney]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

I'm trying to figure out why you can't replay the game once you play it the first time. Can anyone help with this without spoiling anything?

Part of Legacy games is making alterations to the board and destroying components of the game.

[dzilla77]

So does the "destruction/alteration" have to be permanent?

[mckerney]

Originally Posted by dzilla77

So does the "destruction/alteration" have to be permanent?

In theory, no it wouldn't have to be. You don't absolutely have to rip up cards when the game tells you to do so, and you could find a non permanent means of putting down stickers and writing on the board. But you should do it the permanent way. I thought Rab Florence said it pretty well on that part of Risk Legacy:

Over on BoardGameGeek | Gaming Unplugged Since 2000 there are people trying to work out how to get around destroying their game. They’re trying to work out if they could maybe photocopy the components or lay a plastic sheet on the board they write on, or-

Oh, it makes me sad. It drives me mad. Risk: Legacy is not about destroying a game, it is about creating one. Removal is an essential part of creation. What you take out is as important as what you put in. This board game is like a big chunk of rock. Ugly rock, too. Risk rock. And you hack at it and break parts off and end up with something that is beautiful. A game that your group made as you played. Why would you NOT want to do this? Because you’re a collector maybe? Collectors suck. Fuck those guys.

Risk: Legacy is a purely positive thing. As you play it you get the feeling that the design came from a very pure and honest place – “Let’s make Risk amazing.” An honourable quest. And my god, they did it. Last week my girlfriend (a Risk hater) said to me (a Risk hater) that at the end of the 15 games we should frame the board and hang it on the wall. I agreed that it was a cool idea. Can you get how big a deal that is? That we would hang a version of a game we once hated on the wall in our fucking house? Is there any stronger recommendation than that? And these idiots on boardgamegeek want to keep their copies intact? Crazy.

Just crazy.

Fuck collectors. Seriously. Games aren’t for collecting, they’re for playing. I understand where that way of thinking comes from though. When I started buying these premium games, big expensive Fantasy Flight productions, I would hate seeing people holding the cards with greasy hands and I would panic about people having drinks sitting beside the board. But then you realise that the games don’t actually matter. The people do. The good times and the people matter. Not the cardboard. And that’s when you chill out and have fun.

And Risk: Legacy GETS that. This is a game that tells you that YOU matter. All of you sitting round that table are the ones who make a game great. Every fucking time. It doesn’t matter which game you play, if you have shitty people sitting with you it’s going to be a bust. And here’s the game that lets you track all that good fun you had. Finally, a board game has that magic I thought you could only find in a pen and paper RPG.

[Vince, Pt. II]

That's a pretty good way of putting it. It's just such a fantastic game that even knowing what happens to be inside each little box diminishes the game only a little bit. It's super interesting watching how the different players alter their strategy based upon how things change or where people stand.

Like the article says, sure - you can avoid altering it if you want. But that is a HUGE part of the fun. It is hard to describe how rewarding it is to sign the board after winning a game. Or to place a major city in a territory to mark it as yours - now you're the only player who can start in that territory on the board for the rest of the game. Or to name a continent - now when you get that continent's troop bonus, you get an extra troop. The first game, the second game...those wins aren't so rewarding, because people are still getting their feet wet. But once everyone's got their name on the board once, each win is absolutely huge. When you've got 8 hours of table time invested in this campaign and you're halfway home, everyone is fighting tooth and nail for every single game. The anticipation of opening a new package inside the game box to change the game becomes palpable - even if you already know what's in the box.

You have to remember as well - the fact that you destroy parts of the game and draw on the game board isn't just a gimmick, and it isn't the only rewarding part of the game. They've taken a simple area control, winner-take-all dice rolling war game and tweaked it to encompass a much wider variety of strategies than simply "steamroll everyone." Don't get me wrong here either - it's not like this is suddenly a super-subtle, complex war game. But now instead of dominating the entire map, you need to get to four points. Each faction has a headquarters that they place on the board at the beginning of the game. Controlling any HQ is worth a point. If you haven't won a game yet in the current campaign, you also start with a bonus point. So to start out, you only need to capture two enemy HQ's. Then, the first person to win a game doesn't start with that bonus point - so he/she is at a HUGELY significant disadvantage, and this small tweak enables the game to balance itself quite well to make sure everyone gets a taste of victory early. The rest...well, you've got to open the packages inside the box to figure out the rest, but know that each one adds additional layers of depth to the game, and there are very few that aren't significant.

It's also helpful that one of the packages has random contents in each box. I'm currently in the middle of my fourth campaign, and while we haven't opened that particular package yet, we've seen three different sets of contents for that package in three different campaigns.

[bob]

Based on this article, I ordered the Grizzled:

Five New Board Games You Should Play

My wife is keeping it aside for me for Christmas though. From the article: "The cartoonist who created the amazing art in this game, was killed earlier this year in the Charlie Hebdo attack in France."

[Galaril]

I picked up a bunch of early Xmas for myself and some for my son too that we will work our way through over time:
D Day at Pelielu
Raid at St. Naziare
Spearhead Eastern Front and expansion Heavy Weapons
Hold Fast Korea
Hold fast Russia
Pacific War
Empire if the Sun new edition
Confedate Rebellion
Tank on Tank Westfront

[NobodyHere]

Any thoughts on the Pathfinder card game?

Amazon is tempting me since they have the Skulls and Shackles Base Set for $30.

[mckerney]

Originally Posted by NobodyHere

Any thoughts on the Pathfinder card game?

Amazon is tempting me since they have the Skulls and Shackles Base Set for $30.

I've been playing the Skull and Shackles set with a friend and having a blast with it. It plays like a light RPG but one that can be played with little preparation and with just two people with the adventure decks replacing a DM.

It's also pretty easy to play with extra people by keeping another deck or two ready and adding the cards you don't want to keep when they're not playing.

[NobodyHere]

Originally Posted by mckerney

I've been playing the Skull and Shackles set with a friend and having a blast with it. It plays like a light RPG but one that can be played with little preparation and with just two people with the adventure decks replacing a DM.

It's also pretty easy to play with extra people by keeping another deck or two ready and adding the cards you don't want to keep when they're not playing.

I'll probably be playing by myself mostly and maybe with a friend if I ever get one. I hear playing two characters with one person still makes for a fun game.

[Coffee Warlord]

For those who have played it, how's Junta?

Wife got me it for my birthday. Looks fun, haven't played yet.

[tarcone]

Originally Posted by Galaril

I picked up a bunch of early Xmas for myself and some for my son too that we will work our way through over time:
D Day at Pelielu
Raid at St. Naziare
Spearhead Eastern Front and expansion Heavy Weapons
Hold Fast Korea
Hold fast Russia
Pacific War
Empire if the Sun new edition
Confedate Rebellion
Tank on Tank Westfront

Looks like a great list. Have fun.

I'm about to complete a trade where I get Fire in the Sky by MMP and 6th Fleet.

[Galaril]

Originally Posted by tarcone

Looks like a great list. Have fun.

I'm about to complete a trade where I get Fire in the Sky by MMP and 6th Fleet.

Fire in the Sky is one that has been on my list so enjoy. I hedged between going for it or Empire of the sun and decided on the later only cause I heard such great things about EotS.

[tarcone]

I was in the same boat. But I am afraid of the complexity of EotS. And I heard FirS isn't as complex. So i traded for that.
I may get EotS at a later date.

By the way, check out Cataclysm on GMTs P500 list. I've heard nothing but great things about this game. It looks like it has a sandbox feel for a ww2 game.

[Galaril]

Originally Posted by tarcone

I was in the same boat. But I am afraid of the complexity of EotS. And I heard FirS isn't as complex. So i traded for that.
I may get EotS at a later date.

By the way, check out Cataclysm on GMTs P500 list. I've heard nothing but great things about this game. It looks like it has a sandbox feel for a ww2 game.

Thanks for the tip. One thing that scared me off from Fire in the Sky was it did not appear to be too good of a game to play solitaire due to the fog of war cat n'mouse aspect of it . I will be soling with EotS. I am curious are you playing FitS as a solo or two player?

[dzilla77]

Originally Posted by mckerney

I've been playing the Skull and Shackles set with a friend and having a blast with it. It plays like a light RPG but one that can be played with little preparation and with just two people with the adventure decks replacing a DM.

It's also pretty easy to play with extra people by keeping another deck or two ready and adding the cards you don't want to keep when they're not playing.

I have the first and second sets and my group really likes it. It usually makes it out every other game day. S&S is much more difficult than RotRL. My group would usually win the scenario in RotRL but we seem to be many turns short in S&S. Still a lot of fun.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by mckerney

I've been playing the Skull and Shackles set with a friend and having a blast with it. It plays like a light RPG but one that can be played with little preparation and with just two people with the adventure decks replacing a DM.

It's also pretty easy to play with extra people by keeping another deck or two ready and adding the cards you don't want to keep when they're not playing.

I agree. It's a great game. I've played a few times with my group and we really enjoy it. It simulates a RPG pretty well and it's fun to be able to carry your characters and their gear over from scenario to scenario.

I love co-op games more than any other kind of game, and I'd definitely recommend this one.

[mckerney]

Originally Posted by Honolulu_Blue

I agree. It's a great game. I've played a few times with my group and we really enjoy it. It simulates a RPG pretty well and it's fun to be able to carry your characters and their gear over from scenario to scenario.

I love co-op games more than any other kind of game, and I'd definitely recommend this one.

How well it stimulates being an RPG is my favourite part of it. I primarily part with a friend who used to be the GM for my Edge of the Empire group but became too busy to play with us so it's great to be able to play a RPG with him that doesn't require a lot of preparation and we can both play together without needing one of us to GM. I highly recommend the series to anyone that's had trouble scheduling pen and paper RPG sessions or doesn't have enough people for one.
The adventure card game is the next best thing I've found.

[mckerney]

Originally Posted by NobodyHere

I'll probably be playing by myself mostly and maybe with a friend if I ever get one. I hear playing two characters with one person still makes for a fun game.

Playing 2 characters would be best if you're to play solo. You can go with just one, but you will end up running into some locations that you will have serious problems trying to close with only one character. In addition to different stats the characters abilities and deck requirements cause them to play very differently so running two should give good variety. In Skull & Shackles I play Merisiel who is a combat powerhouse with traditional weapons but can't keep spells. I've also played Wrath of the Righteous with my friend's neighbor and use Enora, a spellcaster that can't keep weapons or armor.

If you do get it a couple tips, Jirelle is a good character to have as her ability to reduce structural damage to your ship by one is a huge help, and it's active even if it's not her turn. Also the hand size upgrade might seem tempting but take it last for power upgrades. Since a character dies if they need to draw but can't a larger hand size can put a character closer to death if their deck is running low.

[sachmo71]

anyone coming to dallas for BGGCon? if you are, and want to play some game, email me at [email protected].

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by sachmo71

anyone coming to dallas for BGGCon? if you are, and want to play some game, email me at [email protected].

Sach!!!

[sachmo71]

HB! Are you going to be in Dallas?

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by sachmo71

HB! Are you going to be in Dallas?

Unfortunately, I won't be. It's just good to see you around again, man!

[tarcone]

Originally Posted by Galaril

Thanks for the tip. One thing that scared me off from Fire in the Sky was it did not appear to be too good of a game to play solitaire due to the fog of war cat n'mouse aspect of it . I will be soling with EotS. I am curious are you playing FitS as a solo or two player?

Solo at first. I have a friend at I may be able to get to play against.
Hopefully it works solo

[Galaril]

Originally Posted by tarcone

Solo at first. I have a friend at I may be able to get to play against.
Hopefully it works solo

After I posted that I found some from posts on BGG that say yes you can play solo with it.

[Galaril]

Originally Posted by tarcone

Solo at first. I have a friend at I may be able to get to play against.
Hopefully it works solo

Originally Posted by Galaril

After I posted that I found some from posts on BGG that say yes you can play solo with it.

So after reading and thinking about Fire in the Sky I was able to trade on BGG a used copy of Raid of St. Naizre for a almost new copy of Fire in the sky:-)

[tarcone]

Nice.
Why did you trade Raid?

[Galaril]

Originally Posted by tarcone

Nice.
Why did you trade Raid?

The particular battle covered in "Raid" I don't have great interest in particular . The Pacific Theater on the other hand especially PTO is of great interest.

[Galaril]

Originally Posted by tarcone

Nice.
Why did you trade Raid?

The particular battle covered in "Raid" I don't have great interest in particular . The Pacific Theater on the other hand especially PTO is of great interest. I have looking to get FitS for a number if years. Raid I acquired fairly cheaply and considered a trading chip to acquire one of my bucket list games which FitS was.

[Vince, Pt. II]

So we played the first few months in Pandemic Legacy, and I've got to say...

...I'm not as impressed as I hoped I'd be. I have enjoyed it, and will look forward to playing it more, but it's definitely not the huge impact kind of game that Risk: Legacy has been for me. I wonder if the reason I feel this way is because of the types of games we've had.

My gripe with classic Pandemic has always been articulated best earlier in this thread by Jim: it feels a little like clock solitaire. Once you understand the game mechanics and have built a little bit of a strategy, it almost feels like the only variance you'll see is where the Epidemic cards happen to fall when you're shuffling. This is a very simplistic point of view, and makes it sound like I don't enjoy the game - that's not at all the case. I really do like playing. It doesn't hit our table very often though.

We played four games of Pandemic Legacy in about two and a half hours our first night, and they went like so:

1. Cakewalk victory
2. Cakewalk victory
3. Cakewalk victory
4. Laughably terrible defeat.

I think that the problem with this Legacy version for me is that there's way too much stuff to do between each game. One of the best things about the first playthrough of Risk Legacy is when you get to open a new thing from out of the box. They tend to fundamentally change the game, and as such there aren't very many of them to be opened throughout the course of the game. In Pandemic Legacy, there's a TON of stuff to open and read. It tells a cool story (so far), but it almost feels like too much is going on between games.

There's a long way to go (we are 25% of the way through the game's story, I believe), so there's plenty of room to sway my opinion, but right now I feel like it's just good, not great.

[SnowMan]

I need some suggestions. Trying to get the family into board games, and away from the tv screens. Need some suggestions for games. Probably best to start with somewhat easy to learn, short-ish play times (1-2 hours maybe max). It's just adults and older teens, so I don't really have any maturity type restrictions. Any help would be awesome, thanks.

[Galaril]

So after trying on BGG to unsuccessfully make trades and had people completely try to screw me with ridiculous lopsided counter offers I figure I would throw up the offers here.

1. I am looking to trade Empire of the Sun 2nd edition new and unpunched from a copy of Dday Omaha Beach in pretty good condition.
2. Race for the Galaxy, race for the Galaxy Expansion Gathering storm and Pandemic ( original game) all in like new condition for Tokaido or Freedom Underground Railroad or
3. Roll for the Galaxy like new for Freedom Underground Railroad or
4. Pacific Victory like new condition for Freedom Underground Railroad

Any takers shoot me a pm

[ColtCrazy]

Here's my latest review of The Last Spike. Really enjoyed it. Working on the Railroad — The Last Spike Review |

Snowman, The Last Strike might be worth picking up. Amazingly easy to learn but has some nice depth to it. My 11 year old enjoyed it as did my wife, who is notoriously anti-board games. King of Tokyo seems to have ageless appeal as another option.

Got a couple more in the docket: Praetor and Venetia.

Gaming group started Triumph & Tragedy and I'm impressed so far. I like the different paths the game can go. One group of 3 is playing a very diplomatic game while my group of 3 are a bunch of warmongers.

GMT's US Civil War just got in so that's my goal this weekend. With the GMT Fall Sale I picked up the solitaire Dambuster game and Genesis: The Bronze Age CDG

[Vince, Pt. II]

Originally Posted by SnowMan

I need some suggestions. Trying to get the family into board games, and away from the tv screens. Need some suggestions for games. Probably best to start with somewhat easy to learn, short-ish play times (1-2 hours maybe max). It's just adults and older teens, so I don't really have any maturity type restrictions. Any help would be awesome, thanks.

So there are plenty of ways to get started, but my favorite introductory board game is Ticket to Ride. It's an extremely simple game (there are literally three different things you can do on your turn, each are extremely simple to explain, and the goal is to score a lot of points) with plenty of room for decision making and strategy. It is limited to five players, so if your group is larger it may not be the best choice. You can explain the game in about ten minutes, people will be playing it comfortably within 15 minutes, and the games take no more than an hour and a half to play, typically.

Other games that are good, easy games:

King of Tokyo - think Yahtzee with monsters fighting for control of Tokyo rather than a scorecard. Six dice, six options - deal damage, heal damage, gain energy (currency), or gain points. You get three rolls each turn, and after each roll, you can chose to lock in any number of dice you have already rolled. After your three rolls, you resolve the results, and play passes on to the next player. You can win by either being the first monster to 20 points...or the last monster standing. Games take half an hour to 45 minutes. Simple, quick, absurd, and lots of fun.

Coup - A hidden role game with a huge bluffing mechanic. It is quite structured (on your turn, you take one action from a list of about 8 actions, then your turn is over), so people don't have to worry about floundering, acting or creating elaborate lies and half-truths...but they can if they want to. Each player has two face down cards in front of them that they can look at, but want to keep hidden from other players. There are 5 different 'roles' that these cards depict, and each one has an action and/or a reaction that they are legally able to play. You, as a player, can take any action or reaction at any time. However, any player can stop play and say 'I don't believe you.' You are then forced to reveal one of your cards to prove that you are eligible to perform that action. If you can, the accuser loses one of his cards, and you draw a new card from the deck to replace your revealed role. If you can't, you are forced to lose a card. The game ends when only one player has any hidden role cards in front of them. 30 minute playtime, approximately.

Settlers of Catan - used to be 'the' gateway game, I actually don't like it as much for an introduction to gaming because it's a little complex. It's still a fantastic game, and is not so complex that I would discourage it - I just think there are easier games out there to use as your first foray. This game can also tend to end in irritation for competitive people, because as an area control game, there are limited places on the map for you to play, and therefore when you play somewhere, you're keeping someone else from playing there. Also, the resource generation mechanic is a dice roll, so it can be easy for people to feel 'screwed' by bad rolls. Of course, good strategy limits how much the dice can affect you, but most people don't want to hear that when they're losing. 2 hour play time here, usually.

Dominion - In my opinion, still the best deck-building game out there. Players each start with a ten card deck and use those cards to purchase more cards from a community pool of available cards, which are added to their discard pile. Once an individual player's deck runs out, they shuffle their discard pile and keep playing. The strategies for this game are endless, but the basic principle is knowing how to balance adding useful cards to your deck and adding points to your deck, because cards worth points are absolutely useless in your hand...but they're the only way to win. Another game that is relatively simple in concept (your turn is to play one action, buy one card, then discard the rest of your hand and draw five new cards), but has great depth. Probably about a 1 to 1.5 hour play time, typically.

Pandemic - This is a cooperative game, so all the players are working together to win as a team. You take on the role of scientists, specialists, and doctors trying to quell an outbreak of four different viruses worldwide. This one has a shuffled deck of cards as the mechanic for how the game plays out, and my one drawback to it is mentioned a few posts above in my description of Pandemic Legacy: sometimes it can feel like the game is completely decided by how the cards fall from that deck, and not how you played the game. After you understand the game, this one can be played in 45 minutes to an hour...but can also take some time if you have a larger group who deliberates a lot.

No Thanks - Another extremely simple game that plays out in only 15 to 20 minutes, No Thanks is a game in which your turn consists of drawing cards off the top of the deck until you place a red chip on one. Each red chip is worth -1 point, and everyone starts with 11 of them. The top card of the deck is always face up, and the point of the game is that when you draw a card, it is placed in front of you face up, and you now have as many points as the card shows. When you draw a card, you gain any red chips that are already on it. The goal of the game is to have as few points as possible. There are two kinks: 1. Any run of cards you own, of any length, is only worth the total of the lowest card in that run. Example: 24-25-26-27 is only worth 24 points. 2. There are several cards in the sequence that are dealt out of the deck, face down, at the beginning of the game. So you can't be sure that the 17 that you really need to connect your 14-15-16-XX-18-19-20 is actually still in there. Games take 15 minutes, -ish. Super fast paced, very simple, lots of fun.

[Vince, Pt. II]

Originally Posted by ColtCrazy

Here's my latest review of The Last Spike. Really enjoyed it. Working on the Railroad — The Last Spike Review |

This sounds pretty awesome - a different twist on something like Acquire, perhaps? Definitely on my radar now, thanks for the write-up.

[ColtCrazy]

Originally Posted by Vince, Pt. II

This sounds pretty awesome - a different twist on something like Acquire, perhaps? Definitely on my radar now, thanks for the write-up.

That's what I heard when I got my copy. I haven't played Acquire, but the stock buying seems to make them similar. The tile laying, semi-cooperation aspect of this really caught with me.

[Vince, Pt. II]

Yeah, Acquire is all about tile placement. Everyone's got a set of tiles, almost like scrabble, and they have to play them in specific locations on the board. Acquire's board is literally just a grid though, nothing fancy. When two tiles are orthogonal to one another, a hotel chain is formed, and people can then buy stock in it.

I'm really curious about the interaction between buying land and laying rail - how plausible is it for someone to go broke before a city connection is made?

[tarcone]

Snowman,
I have a couple suggestions.

Evolution- great card game about evolving your species. Easy to learn, fun to play and fits your time guidelines. My family doesn't like games, but likes this one.

Escape: the Curse of the Temple- dice chucking fun. Only ten minutes a game. You chuck dice for 10 minutes trying to discover gems before time runs out. It is tense fun. You will be sweating when the time is up.

Thunder Alley- in my opinion, the best racing game out there. You don't have to be a nascar fan. It's just good fun. I love this game.

Betrayal at the House on the Hill- 2 games in one. Explore a house, then one of you turns into a betrayer. And you have monsters on your side as you try and kill the others before they can escape or kill you. I like this game. Lots of fun.

[ColtCrazy]

Originally Posted by Vince, Pt. II

Yeah, Acquire is all about tile placement. Everyone's got a set of tiles, almost like scrabble, and they have to play them in specific locations on the board. Acquire's board is literally just a grid though, nothing fancy. When two tiles are orthogonal to one another, a hotel chain is formed, and people can then buy stock in it.

I'm really curious about the interaction between buying land and laying rail - how plausible is it for someone to go broke before a city connection is made?

I would think it would be hard to go broke, but it may be more likely with more players. If you would get stuck with unfortunate blocks not connected to the city and went haywire on the higher stocks if there was a run on a connection, then it's possible. But prudent buying and placing should prevent any of that. I could see this being fairly chaotic with 4 as people scramble to get a piece of the connection, especially if you leave out someone who owns an important connecting tile.

[dzilla77]

Originally Posted by Vince, Pt. II

So there are plenty of ways to get started, but my favorite introductory board game is Ticket to Ride. It's an extremely simple game (there are literally three different things you can do on your turn, each are extremely simple to explain, and the goal is to score a lot of points) with plenty of room for decision making and strategy. It is limited to five players, so if your group is larger it may not be the best choice. You can explain the game in about ten minutes, people will be playing it comfortably within 15 minutes, and the games take no more than an hour and a half to play, typically.

Other games that are good, easy games:

King of Tokyo - think Yahtzee with monsters fighting for control of Tokyo rather than a scorecard. Six dice, six options - deal damage, heal damage, gain energy (currency), or gain points. You get three rolls each turn, and after each roll, you can chose to lock in any number of dice you have already rolled. After your three rolls, you resolve the results, and play passes on to the next player. You can win by either being the first monster to 20 points...or the last monster standing. Games take half an hour to 45 minutes. Simple, quick, absurd, and lots of fun.

Coup - A hidden role game with a huge bluffing mechanic. It is quite structured (on your turn, you take one action from a list of about 8 actions, then your turn is over), so people don't have to worry about floundering, acting or creating elaborate lies and half-truths...but they can if they want to. Each player has two face down cards in front of them that they can look at, but want to keep hidden from other players. There are 5 different 'roles' that these cards depict, and each one has an action and/or a reaction that they are legally able to play. You, as a player, can take any action or reaction at any time. However, any player can stop play and say 'I don't believe you.' You are then forced to reveal one of your cards to prove that you are eligible to perform that action. If you can, the accuser loses one of his cards, and you draw a new card from the deck to replace your revealed role. If you can't, you are forced to lose a card. The game ends when only one player has any hidden role cards in front of them. 30 minute playtime, approximately.

Settlers of Catan - used to be 'the' gateway game, I actually don't like it as much for an introduction to gaming because it's a little complex. It's still a fantastic game, and is not so complex that I would discourage it - I just think there are easier games out there to use as your first foray. This game can also tend to end in irritation for competitive people, because as an area control game, there are limited places on the map for you to play, and therefore when you play somewhere, you're keeping someone else from playing there. Also, the resource generation mechanic is a dice roll, so it can be easy for people to feel 'screwed' by bad rolls. Of course, good strategy limits how much the dice can affect you, but most people don't want to hear that when they're losing. 2 hour play time here, usually.

Dominion - In my opinion, still the best deck-building game out there. Players each start with a ten card deck and use those cards to purchase more cards from a community pool of available cards, which are added to their discard pile. Once an individual player's deck runs out, they shuffle their discard pile and keep playing. The strategies for this game are endless, but the basic principle is knowing how to balance adding useful cards to your deck and adding points to your deck, because cards worth points are absolutely useless in your hand...but they're the only way to win. Another game that is relatively simple in concept (your turn is to play one action, buy one card, then discard the rest of your hand and draw five new cards), but has great depth. Probably about a 1 to 1.5 hour play time, typically.

Pandemic - This is a cooperative game, so all the players are working together to win as a team. You take on the role of scientists, specialists, and doctors trying to quell an outbreak of four different viruses worldwide. This one has a shuffled deck of cards as the mechanic for how the game plays out, and my one drawback to it is mentioned a few posts above in my description of Pandemic Legacy: sometimes it can feel like the game is completely decided by how the cards fall from that deck, and not how you played the game. After you understand the game, this one can be played in 45 minutes to an hour...but can also take some time if you have a larger group who deliberates a lot.

No Thanks - Another extremely simple game that plays out in only 15 to 20 minutes, No Thanks is a game in which your turn consists of drawing cards off the top of the deck until you place a red chip on one. Each red chip is worth -1 point, and everyone starts with 11 of them. The top card of the deck is always face up, and the point of the game is that when you draw a card, it is placed in front of you face up, and you now have as many points as the card shows. When you draw a card, you gain any red chips that are already on it. The goal of the game is to have as few points as possible. There are two kinks: 1. Any run of cards you own, of any length, is only worth the total of the lowest card in that run. Example: 24-25-26-27 is only worth 24 points. 2. There are several cards in the sequence that are dealt out of the deck, face down, at the beginning of the game. So you can't be sure that the 17 that you really need to connect your 14-15-16-XX-18-19-20 is actually still in there. Games take 15 minutes, -ish. Super fast paced, very simple, lots of fun.

I'll second King of Tokyo, Dominion and Pandemic. Settlers and Ticket to Ride are ok.

I'd also recommend Zombie Dice (its really quick and sorta similar to KoT but simpler) and 7 Wonders. 7 Wonders has pretty simple mechanics but a decent amount of strategy to it.

[tarcone]

I really like 7 Wonders

[Vince, Pt. II]

I hesitate to recommend 7 Wonders as an intro game, and I think it's just because we have a fair portion of our group that simply doesn't like the game. It's frustrating for my roommate and I, because we really enjoy it.

Then again, there are few games I don't enjoy.