Board Games

[PadresFan104]

Just discovered Memoir '44. (Online) Have a hard enough time getting the family to play Settlers and Carcassonne, so I doubt the game will ever see my tabletop.

What a great game though, just loving it on the computer...

[Barkeep49]

Introduced Settlers of Catan to a group of 4 7th grade girls today. They loved it. Exciting to spread out awesome board games to others.

[ColtCrazy]

Just got my new version of Conquest of the Empire in today. My 5th graders are excited about busting it open for our post ISTEP party this Friday.

[Glengoyne]

Now that I'm post Disney World, I'm considering my wife's prohibition on boardgame purchases to have expired. She reads here as often as I do, so I'm pretty much posting this at my own risk.

I just placed an order for Wiz War, a reprint of a classic game from the 80s. This game was Richard Garfield's inspiration for Magic the Gathering. The theme is a set of wizards fighting to the death to become the new arch mage. There are schools of magic, spells, and counter spells. Not to mention instant, often gratifying, death. An Ameritrash classic.

After that I've got my sights set on Macao. A few year's old Euro with action points, card drafting, and dice. DICE!?

[Warhammer]

Originally Posted by Glengoyne

Now that I'm post Disney World, I'm considering my wife's prohibition on boardgame purchases to have expired. She reads here as often as I do, so I'm pretty much posting this at my own risk.

I just placed an order for Wiz War, a reprint of a classic game from the 80s. This game was Richard Garfield's inspiration for Magic the Gathering. The theme is a set of wizards fighting to the death to become the new arch mage. There are schools of magic, spells, and counter spells. Not to mention instant, often gratifying, death. An Ameritrash classic.

After that I've got my sights set on Macao. A few year's old Euro with action points, card drafting, and dice. DICE!?

I would suggest you try before you buy Macao. It was very much a flavor of the week game in my group. We played it 3-4 times, and it has not hit the table since.

[Glengoyne]

Originally Posted by Warhammer

I would suggest you try before you buy Macao. It was very much a flavor of the week game in my group. We played it 3-4 times, and it has not hit the table since.

I don't think I know anybody with a copy. I might try the trade market on BGG. You wouldn't happen to have a spare would you?

As far as appeal, it just seems like a fit for me. I'm a big Puerto Rico fan. The game my friends and I play most and seem to enjoy the most is Le Havre. My take on Macao is that it will be significantly lighter than Le Havre, and still bring some interesting mechanics into play. I'm also a big fan of Homesteaders, probably moreso than the rest of my regular gaming friends. Games with economic engines ring our bell so to speak.

[Vince, Pt. II]

So I took advantage of the Codito sale on the iOS app store the other day, and picked up Tigris & Euphrates and Tikal. I haven't had much of a shot with T&E, but I'm really enjoying Tikal (though I wish the AI was a bit stronger, I wipe the walls with all of them). My question is for anyone who has the actual game: how does it play on a tabletop? It seems like it would get rather confusing/complicated keeping track of 16 different expedition members, 10 AP per turn, the value of each temple, 24 different treasures, etc.

[Warhammer]

Originally Posted by Vince, Pt. II

So I took advantage of the Codito sale on the iOS app store the other day, and picked up Tigris & Euphrates and Tikal. I haven't had much of a shot with T&E, but I'm really enjoying Tikal (though I wish the AI was a bit stronger, I wipe the walls with all of them). My question is for anyone who has the actual game: how does it play on a tabletop? It seems like it would get rather confusing/complicated keeping track of 16 different expedition members, 10 AP per turn, the value of each temple, 24 different treasures, etc.

Its not that bad. I almost won my first game of it against a guy who was prepping to play it in the WBC (lost because he was coaching another person who locked me out of a 9 temple which I would have taken on my turn). I prefer Torres though as my AP game of choice.

[Warhammer]

Originally Posted by Glengoyne

I don't think I know anybody with a copy. I might try the trade market on BGG. You wouldn't happen to have a spare would you?

As far as appeal, it just seems like a fit for me. I'm a big Puerto Rico fan. The game my friends and I play most and seem to enjoy the most is Le Havre. My take on Macao is that it will be significantly lighter than Le Havre, and still bring some interesting mechanics into play. I'm also a big fan of Homesteaders, probably moreso than the rest of my regular gaming friends. Games with economic engines ring our bell so to speak.

I don't have a spare, I played it and took it off my wishlist. Its not to say that you won't like it, but there was a tight mechanic with the cards and dice, but parts of the board felt tacked on.

If you are looking for an economic game, I would look at Genoa, for trading, or 1830 if you want a stock game. 1830 is a bit long, but it is completely worth it.

[Danny]

Macao is a very good game and works well with 2 players which is a bonus for me. Only downside is I would refrain from playing with AP prone players. Based on my experience, you really can't go wrong with Stefan Feld of the past few years.

[gi]

Love Wiz War...

[MIJB#19]

Originally Posted by Arctus

I am 6 games into a Risk Legacy Campaign. It really is a fantastic game. I would highly recommend it. I don't want to go into too many details since the game is pretty much one big spoiler.

There are four of us that have played every game. Our fifth spot has been split between three different players.

I haven't seen anyone else mention this, but it also has one of the cleanest set of rules that I've ever seen in a board game.

A couple of weeks ago I got Risk Legacy as a birthday gift. I felt like a ten year old. Now I'm in the process of finding the right people to play with, from the sound of things it's best enjoyed when playing most or all 15 initial games.

[Vince, Pt. II]

Originally Posted by Warhammer

Its not that bad. I almost won my first game of it against a guy who was prepping to play it in the WBC (lost because he was coaching another person who locked me out of a 9 temple which I would have taken on my turn). I prefer Torres though as my AP game of choice.

Thanks, I'll have to check out Torres.

Anyone here played Ventura? Tanga sent me an email today offering me $40 off, and I'm intrigued. Fantasy Flight (Arkham Horror) guys publish it, and it's set in renessaince Italy. The game seems to be a combination of army building, conquest and wealth management. At its full price of $80, I'd probably never pick it up, but at $40, I'm intrigued. There don't seem to be many reviews online due to the high price point, but it's rated pretty high on Board Game Geek.

[Autumn]

Anybody who loved the Zork-type games, or likes a good party/group game, will probably love this. (CrimsonFox, I'm thinking particularly of you). It's a face to face Zork game, where one person takes the role of the computer parser and the rest try to navigate the adventure!

http://memento-mori.com/online-store...action-castle/

[Matthean]

I followed links and there are PDF versions of Action Castle I & II for $1.99 each. Even buying them from the official store they are $5 +s/h.

RPGNow.com - The leading source for indie RPGs

[Autumn]

Awesome find, Matthean, thanks.

[Fidatelo]

I picked up the Lord of the Rings: Living Card Game core set a week ago, pretty much strictly for solo play. I've played 15 times since, and I absolutely love it. I'm still using the pre-built decks against the beginner scenario, but I can't wait to start making my own decks and trying the harder scenarios as well as a bunch of custom scenarios that I've found over on BoardGameGeek. I can easily see myself getting sucked into buying some Adventure Packs down the road.

[Glengoyne]

Originally Posted by Danny

Macao is a very good game and works well with 2 players which is a bonus for me. Only downside is I would refrain from playing with AP prone players. Based on my experience, you really can't go wrong with Stefan Feld of the past few years.

Just noting that your comments and a few others have me looking at Notre Dame as well.

[Autumn]

I love Notre Dame, I'm dying for my friend to bring it back over for another go.

[Mota]

I just bought Strat-o-Matic Baseball and Hockey this week, look forward to getting them shortly. My son has been loving hockey so wanted this game, and the baseball version is my guilty pleasure.

[Danny]

Originally Posted by Autumn

I'm dying for my friend to bend over for another go.

[Autumn]

You had me freaked out there for a second. "Oh my God, how out of it was I when I wrote that post!"

[Matthean]

I think the level of geekdom just broke records. Felicia Day makes a Youtube channel for shows and one of them is Wil Wheaton hosting a show about board games.

[Warhammer]

I gotta make sure to catch the game he has with Day9, that will be a hoot.

[Lonnie]

Yeah I went ahead and subscribed to Tabletop. Looks like it could be good.

[Matthean]

Bought Dominion and read through the instructions. Seems easy enough but I'll have to do some play throughs. It works for a "civilized game" to play with friends.

Ordered King of Tokyo. Fills the requirement for "blows crap up game." I wanted it in time to play with a friend who is coming up this week but Amazon list it as roughly a 3 week wait.

Ordered Dungeon Crawler since it's made to be played solo and multiplayer and offers expansion for more variety.

[Mustang]

Finally picked up Elder Sign this weekend. I had not purchased yet just because I love Arkham Horror, but wanted something a little quicker. Recommend for those interested in Arkham Horror, but might be a little put off by the rules length and/or time investment. (Hey.. only 8 pages)

[Danny]

Originally Posted by Mustang

Finally picked up Elder Sign this weekend. I had not purchased yet just because I love Arkham Horror, but wanted something a little quicker. Recommend for those interested in Arkham Horror, but might be a little put off by the rules length and/or time investment. (Hey.. only 8 pages)

I actually preordered this, but after reading the rules and user comments, I just wasn't particularly interested in playing it. The theme is cool, but I much much prefer coop games which are challenging and hard to win and have some good strategy to them. Elder sign seems too long for what it is and way too easy. I just traded it away for Jambo and its two expansions.

[Warhammer]

Just got Dungeon Petz yesterday, looking forward to receiving the new Cosmic Encounter expansion, Space Empires: 4x, and For Sale on Tuesday.

[Danny]

A new game with a good bit of strategy, but simple mechanics if Lords of Waterdeep. It has a DnD theme, but euro style gameplay. It works very well with 2 and 4 players (I'm sure 3 as well). I played it yesterday with two people who had never played a strategy game before and they both really enjoyed it and caught on quickly. Yet it still has a good amount of depth overall.

[Vince, Pt. II]

I picked up Power Grid last week, and have played a couple of 2 person games with it. I really enjoy the mechanics and am very interested to try it with more than two people. With only two players, it seems a bit too easy to manage resources and keep all of your cities powered at all times. I'd imagine even with only one more player it would be MUCH tighter, and at 4 it would be a pain in the ass to get things done. Which I'm really looking forward to

[DanGarion]

1st Episode of Tabletop is out!

[Warhammer]

Originally Posted by Vince, Pt. II

I picked up Power Grid last week, and have played a couple of 2 person games with it. I really enjoy the mechanics and am very interested to try it with more than two people. With only two players, it seems a bit too easy to manage resources and keep all of your cities powered at all times. I'd imagine even with only one more player it would be MUCH tighter, and at 4 it would be a pain in the ass to get things done. Which I'm really looking forward to

Extremely good game. Scales very well up to 5 players. 6 Players can be brutal depending upon the map.

[Vince, Pt. II]

Originally Posted by Warhammer

Extremely good game. Scales very well up to 5 players. 6 Players can be brutal depending upon the map.

Tried it with three players tonight. I am really, really enjoying the game. It feels like resources are not quite scarce enough in smaller games (picking up oil and coal for $1 and $2 late in the game tonight felt almost unfair)...then again, I've only played it three times, so we'll have to see if that trend persists.

Edit to add:

We used the US map, with the Southeast, Deep South and Southwest regions available. For our initial city placement, I went with the Southeast, one opponent took Houston, and another Los Angeles. It seems like there's an absolutely brutal penalty for being on the wrong side of the map - expanding past the Rockies is ridiculously expensive.

[CrimsonFox]

Yay, unloaded several games this weekend and RPG books and in return got a copy of Castle Ravenloft. Nice. I think I'll make a Dynasty for it. Maybe I'll try and figure out how to make it an interactive one as well. (a la Abe's Heroquest)

[Fidatelo]

Originally Posted by CrimsonFox

Yay, unloaded several games this weekend and RPG books and in return got a copy of Castle Ravenloft. Nice. I think I'll make a Dynasty for it. Maybe I'll try and figure out how to make it an interactive one as well. (a la Abe's Heroquest)

Awesome, I'll read it if you make a dynasty!

[terpkristin]

Originally Posted by DanGarion

1st Episode of Tabletop is out!

I really wanted to like this show. I really wish I could do more tabletop gaming...alas, nobody around here (IRL) wants to play. They're too cool for it or something. I think the show would've been more interesting if I knew the game or cared about the hosts. Alas, I've never heard of the game and I just don't understand the nerdgasms over Wil Wheaton, Grant Imahara, and whoever the other 2 people were.

/tk

[DanGarion]

Originally Posted by terpkristin

I really wanted to like this show. I really wish I could do more tabletop gaming...alas, nobody around here (IRL) wants to play. They're too cool for it or something. I think the show would've been more interesting if I knew the game or cared about the hosts. Alas, I've never heard of the game and I just don't understand the nerdgasms over Wil Wheaton, Grant Imahara, and whoever the other 2 people were.

/tk

Well Wil is the host, the rest of the people will change every episode. It's his show. Other than that they will have a different game each episode. I actually liked it quite a bit and was introduced to a game I didn't really know much about, that I'm now highly interested in.

[Matthean]

Originally Posted by terpkristin

I really wanted to like this show. I really wish I could do more tabletop gaming...alas, nobody around here (IRL) wants to play. They're too cool for it or something. I think the show would've been more interesting if I knew the game or cared about the hosts. Alas, I've never heard of the game and I just don't understand the nerdgasms over Wil Wheaton, Grant Imahara, and whoever the other 2 people were.

/tk

It was four people getting together playing a game and having a blast. I got to see a game played that I didn't know about, and it looks like fun. I don't really care who the other people are or how much geek factor Wil has.

[Autumn]

Originally Posted by Vince, Pt. II

Tried it with three players tonight. I am really, really enjoying the game. It feels like resources are not quite scarce enough in smaller games (picking up oil and coal for $1 and $2 late in the game tonight felt almost unfair)...then again, I've only played it three times, so we'll have to see if that trend persists.

Edit to add:

We used the US map, with the Southeast, Deep South and Southwest regions available. For our initial city placement, I went with the Southeast, one opponent took Houston, and another Los Angeles. It seems like there's an absolutely brutal penalty for being on the wrong side of the map - expanding past the Rockies is ridiculously expensive.

Picking regions and starting point is really vital, yeah. The game changes the more you play it and get to know the map. Same with the resources. People will start buying plants differently and suddenly resource use will change.

[terpkristin]

Originally Posted by Matthean

It was four people getting together playing a game and having a blast. I got to see a game played that I didn't know about, and it looks like fun. I don't really care who the other people are or how much geek factor Wil has.

Different strokes. A lot of inside baseball talk and I found it boring to keep up with a game I had no prior knowledge of. I also hate talk radio.

Maybe if I'd heard of the game, knew SOMETHING about it. Or had any remote chance of being able to play it. But neither exist.

/tk

[Warhammer]

Originally Posted by Vince, Pt. II

Tried it with three players tonight. I am really, really enjoying the game. It feels like resources are not quite scarce enough in smaller games (picking up oil and coal for $1 and $2 late in the game tonight felt almost unfair)...then again, I've only played it three times, so we'll have to see if that trend persists.

Edit to add:

We used the US map, with the Southeast, Deep South and Southwest regions available. For our initial city placement, I went with the Southeast, one opponent took Houston, and another Los Angeles. It seems like there's an absolutely brutal penalty for being on the wrong side of the map - expanding past the Rockies is ridiculously expensive.

Also, you do not have to start in the region you put into play. Just a heads up.

[Glengoyne]

Originally Posted by terpkristin

?...

Maybe if I'd heard of the game, knew SOMETHING about it. Or had any remote chance of being able to play it. But neither exist.

/tk

But there is an app for the game. Don't you have all the apps?

[Danny]

I enjoyed the show as well, but I am boardgamegeek, so that makes sense. If only there was a site for people like me

[Warhammer]

Originally Posted by terpkristin

Different strokes. A lot of inside baseball talk and I found it boring to keep up with a game I had no prior knowledge of. I also hate talk radio.

Maybe if I'd heard of the game, knew SOMETHING about it. Or had any remote chance of being able to play it. But neither exist.

/tk

Start your own group.

[Radii]

Originally Posted by Danny

I enjoyed the show as well, but I am boardgamegeek, so that makes sense. If only there was a site for people like me

I'm not a board game geek at all but I love Day[9] and Grant from mythbusters, I enjoyed it immensely

[Vince, Pt. II]

I had no idea who Day[9] was until I watched that. He's freaking hilarious. Was a pretty good sport while he was getting his ass kicked early on too

That was an enjoyable watch, looking forward to future episodes.

[mckerney]

Originally Posted by Vince, Pt. II

I had no idea who Day[9] was until I watched that. He's freaking hilarious. Was a pretty good sport while he was getting his ass kicked early on too

That was an enjoyable watch, looking forward to future episodes.

I watched mostly for Day[9] being in it, I loved him going from playing the guy who was being beat up all game to winning.

He's a great StarCraft 2 caster.

[Poli]

Originally Posted by Matthean

Bought Dominion and read through the instructions. Seems easy enough but I'll have to do some play throughs. It works for a "civilized game" to play with friends.

Ordered King of Tokyo. Fills the requirement for "blows crap up game." I wanted it in time to play with a friend who is coming up this week but Amazon list it as roughly a 3 week wait.

Ordered Dungeon Crawler since it's made to be played solo and multiplayer and offers expansion for more variety.

I'm interested in the dungeon crawler. Let me know how it plays.

[Warhammer]

Originally Posted by mckerney

I watched mostly for Day[9] being in it, I loved him going from playing the guy who was being beat up all game to winning.

He's a great StarCraft 2 caster.

I know guys that don't play SC2 that watch the Day[9] daily just for him. I'll say this, the guy knows his stuff.