Board Games

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klewis
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Re: Board Games

#46 Post by klewis »

Ghosts wrote:I'm very much enjoying this game. Though a warning: the rule book is 25 pages long and I only figured it out when I watched a great youtube "Watch it Played" series with like 11 15-min. episodes.
I am not sure if this website has it (work blocks gaming sites) but I found this website is very useful for game rule setup sheets. These summary sheets were created by a user on boardgamegeek.

By the way, did you get a chance to play 7 Wonders yet? I heard rave reviews from it.
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Re: Board Games

#47 Post by John »

Featherheads wrote:I am not sure if this website has it (work blocks gaming sites) but I found this website is very useful for game rule setup sheets. These summary sheets were created by a user on boardgamegeek.
The site you linked to does in fact have the rule sheet for The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game. Thanks for the tip, Kevin!
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Re: Board Games

#48 Post by Mike Dunn »

PEBA Commissioner wrote:
Featherheads wrote:I am not sure if this website has it (work blocks gaming sites) but I found this website is very useful for game rule setup sheets. These summary sheets were created by a user on boardgamegeek.
The site you linked to does in fact have the rule sheet for The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game. Thanks for the tip, Kevin!
Oh my goodness, that is awesome. Thanks so much Kevin. What a great site.

John, the site does have the rule sheet for LoTR:TCG but you linked to another LoTR game, Confrontation. The correct PDF is here.

This will be a great help as I try to learn the game better ;-D .
Featherheads wrote:By the way, did you get a chance to play 7 Wonders yet? I heard rave reviews from it.
Sigh. Here's what happened: I thought 7 Wonders would work wonders with my 11-year old daughter. But the minute it was unwrapped I could tell by her expression she wasn't interested. She had literally judged the game by its cover. My wife, daughter and I sat down one afternoon last week and tried playing, and we asked her to keep an open mind, but her mind was made up: she wasn't interested. After an hour or so, she wasn't even paying attention, and we gave up.

I was pretty disappointed, particularly after spending $35 on a 3-player game. My hunch is that the art design made her think it was too much like school, too serious. She has loved Ticket to Ride and Carcasonne. Castle Panic, that also came at Christmas, was a big hit. Not 7 Wonders.

Ah well. So now I have this award-winning game, sitting unloved. Should I: a) keep it, and try to learn the two-player variant with my wife or b) put it away for two years, then see if my daughter would be interested at age 13 or c) trade it at BGG (or here)?
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Re: Board Games

#49 Post by Apollos »

Ghosts wrote:Ah well. So now I have this award-winning game, sitting unloved. Should I: a) keep it, and try to learn the two-player variant with my wife or b) put it away for two years, then see if my daughter would be interested at age 13 or c) trade it at BGG (or here)?
Keep it, for sure.

I first introduced my friends and wife to it a few months ago - a couple of them loved it, the others were pretty ambivalent. On Christmas we had a few friends over and broke it out again, this time to rave reviews. Between Christmas and New year's we've probably logged an additional 7-8 games and everyone who has recently played, really loved it. It may take a little getting used to, but the open-ended strategy seems to really draw people (myself included) in. Strongly recommend giving it another go and learning the 2 player variant, which I have yet to try, but hear is also good fun.
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Re: Board Games

#50 Post by Zephyrs »

Just an update on my Dominion purchase. I did get it for my oldest son (11) for Christmas. He and I have played head-to-head 3 times and he seems to really like it. It is the only game we have that I don't roll my eyes at when I am asked to close the laptop for family board game night. His mother joined us last night for a game and she seems hooked too. She asked to play it again this morning.
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Re: Board Games

#51 Post by Tyler »

Zephyrs wrote:Just an update on my Dominion purchase. I did get it for my oldest son (11) for Christmas. He and I have played head-to-head 3 times and he seems to really like it. It is the only game we have that I don't roll my eyes at when I am asked to close the laptop for family board game night. His mother joined us last night for a game and she seems hooked too. She asked to play it again this morning.
This is absoultely wonderful to hear. I'm glad it's been a hit! :D

I can't believe I haven't posted in this thread before. Through my girlfriend (Sydnie, formerly of Kalamazoo) I have been introduced to all sorts of board games and my apartment now hosts semi-regular game nights. I've played the following games:
  • Dominion - This game has been pretty well-covered. I know we've had some new fans join the league, so I'd like to do a one-off PEBA Dominion game again at some point.
  • Ticket to Ride - Love the game, hate the graphics. As a railfan, it has always irked me to no end that the trains depicted on the cards are based on European prototypes but the game board is of the United States. I'm a pedant :^ but the game is good enough I forgive it every time I play.
  • Carcassone - Huge fan of this game, and I recommend it as a "gateway drug" to German-style games, even more than Settlers, which also now has that reputation. I myself am actually not very good at it - I always get suckered into placing too many farmers - but there is virtually never a gaming mood where I don't want to play this game.
  • Settlers of Catan - I have one silly problem with this game. I can't tell the resources apart on the gameboard. I would prefer the tiles had more stylistic or symbolic representation of their resources instead of the artistic depictions currently used. I constantly slow down gameplay by asking "Wait, which one is that?" But it's a great game. I also always run an isolationist foreign policy - no trading!
  • Munchkin - God I hate this game. I appreciate and admire its quirky spirit, a trait many of my favorite games also share, but there's just something about Munchkin that makes it feel too much like "Calvinballl." Perhaps I don't know the cards well enough, but the one time I played a proper game I had just barely figured out the gameplay when others started playing cards on me that felt like they were "Punch your opponent in the face, burn all of his cards, and he loses his next turn." I also don't like games with what I consider free-form play. You can gang up on other players in Munchkin however you want to, and there's an inevitable crush to destroy the player with nine points. This shows up in "Settlers" as well - trading with the bank is great. There are published exchange rates in the rules. But you can trade with other players however you want, opening the door to all sorts of frustrating outcomes.
  • Fluxx - Best simple game ever. I've even made custom cards myself. I got my brother Fluxx as a Christmas gift and it became an instant hit with my family. I've even gotten exclusive promo cards at conventions! (Exclusive, that is, until they prove popular and Fluxx incorporates them into the next version of the base game...)
  • Chrononauts - from the people who brought you Fluxx. I love this quirky time-travelling alternate history game. You compete to restore the timeline to the way your character thinks is normal (you know, where Abraham Lincoln is never shot but impeached during Reconstruction, or the unforgetable moment when Senator John Lenon chained himself to the Space Shuttle launchpad in 1986 as part of a political protest, preventing the Challenger disaster). There are two expansions to make the timeline even longer than the base game. It's always silly fun, and can sometimes get enjoyably awkward - I've found myself saving Hitler from being assassinated by other players. Ewww...
  • Manifest Destiny - I've only ever played this game once, and it's a real time-sink. It's a "war game" if you replace "war" with "socio-economic" and "game" with "simulation." The gameplay could definitely use some streamlining to eliminate the myriad and confusing different elements, but fundamentally it's an enjoyable, "adult" version of Risk.
  • Race for the Galaxy - My new favorite game. I'm still horrible at it. I recommend it for any fan of Dominion (same company) or sci-fi (it's "Race for the Galaxy," after all). There are expansions, but I've never played with them. I have a freeware version of it on my computer I use to play against an AI whenever I don't have someone to play with. The symbols on the cards appear incredibly complex at first but gameplay itself is actually fairly straightforward. The card design does a good job of obscuring this fact, unfortunately.
A typical game night usually starts with complex games, like Dominion or Manifest Destiny, and then slowly moves to simpler games, always ending with Fluxx. This is done to make sure nobody gets burnt out, since players are usually a mix of hard-core and casual gamers.
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Re: Board Games

#52 Post by Coqui »

Alleghenies wrote:
Zephyrs wrote:[*]Ticket to Ride - Love the game, hate the graphics. As a railfan, it has always irked me to no end that the trains depicted on the cards are based on European prototypes but the game board is of the United States. I'm a pedant :^ but the game is good enough I forgive it every time I play.
This is an easy fix. Just get Ticket to Ride: Europe. It is better than the original.
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Re: Board Games

#53 Post by Denny »

Alleghenies wrote: I've played the following games:
  • Munchkin - God I hate this game. I appreciate and admire its quirky spirit, a trait many of my favorite games also share, but there's just something about Munchkin that makes it feel too much like "Calvinballl." Perhaps I don't know the cards well enough, but the one time I played a proper game I had just barely figured out the gameplay when others started playing cards on me that felt like they were "Punch your opponent in the face, burn all of his cards, and he loses his next turn." I also don't like games with what I consider free-form play. You can gang up on other players in Munchkin however you want to, and there's an inevitable crush to destroy the player with nine points. This shows up in "Settlers" as well - trading with the bank is great. There are published exchange rates in the rules. But you can trade with other players however you want, opening the door to all sorts of frustrating outcomes.
If you hate Munchkin, don't ever, ever play Killer Bunnies. %-6 The only reason I will play Munchkin is in order to avoid KB.

Has anyone here played Age of Industry? I confess that it intrigues me purely because there is an expansion map of Minnesota, where I live (well, and that I like that sort of resource/building/exploring type of theme)--but I'd hate to plunk down a bunch of cash for original and expansions only to find that it's terrible. :eek: Although the fact that there are expansions at all I guess means it can't be horrific, can it? :) Well, actually, even as I type that I must take it back--look at all the expansions for BOTH the above-loathed games Munchkin and Killer Bunnies. :-#
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Re: Board Games

#54 Post by John »

[i]Firefly: The Game[/i] Facebook page wrote:In Firefly: The Game, players captain their own Firefly-class transport ship, traveling the ‘Verse with a handpicked crew of fighters, mechanics and other travelers. As a captain desperate for work, players are compelled to take on any job -- so long as it pays. Double-dealing employers, heavy-handed Alliance patrols and marauding Reavers are all in a day’s work for a ship’s captain at the edge of the ‘Verse. Firefly: The Game is a high-end thematic tabletop boardgame from Gale Force Nine (GF9). It will be the first in a series of tabletop hobby boardgames and miniatures games from GF9 set in the Firefly Universe.
I don't know if our resident board game fans are as into Firefly as I am, but if one of you is, I'd sure be interested to hear your opinion on this when it comes out this fall. :D
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Re: Board Games

#55 Post by Coqui »

So, in light of some other game playing threads popping up, and Christmas gift giving just around the corner, I thought that I'd mention some new faves.

First, though, let me chime in about LOVING 7 Wonders, which is mentioned way up thread. It's an incredibly complex game with a very short learning curve (1 or 2 games). The best part of all is that with experienced players around the table you can knock a game out in 15-20 minutes. It's probably our family's go to game, and one where our 7 year old has to be some kind of savant - his record is probably around .500 - great for a game that we normally play with 3 or 4 people. And it's not like we're letting him win or anything.

There are three games that Io have played recently that haven't been mentioned here (at least, I don't think they've been mentioned):

Acquire is an oft republished game from the 60s. I can't believe that I have neved come across it until a few weekends ago. It's basically an all-grown-up Monopoly that (1) lets you get your inner Donald Trump on, and (2) take 20-30 minutes, tops. There's a lot of strategy, and a fair amount of card-counting and other math skills can really help you get ahead. It's great fun. You compete to acquire hotel chains and merge them out of existence, getting bonuses for being the majority shareholder (or at least plurality). At the end of the game, whoever has the most money wins.

Rage is a ton of fun. It's kind of like Fluxx meets hearts, if that makes any sense at all. It's a standard trick-catching card game. . . except trump can change at any time. . . and you get far more points if you catch exactly the number of tricks that you bid. Oh, and there are bonus cards and penalty cards that you can unwittingly catch in a trick (kind of like the jack of diamonds and queen of spades in hearts). Another way to describe it is that it's a gimmicked up version of Oh, Hell.

Stone Age is a game that I've only played solo, and only on the iPad. It's a resource gathering game like Settlers, but without the map, and without the annoying tendency of Settlers for everyone to gang up on the leader.

Has anyone else played any fun new games recently?
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Re: Board Games

#56 Post by Bill »

Longshoremen wrote: Acquire is an oft republished game from the 60s. I can't believe that I have neved come across it until a few weekends ago. It's basically an all-grown-up Monopoly that (1) lets you get your inner Donald Trump on, and (2) take 20-30 minutes, tops. There's a lot of strategy, and a fair amount of card-counting and other math skills can really help you get ahead. It's great fun. You compete to acquire hotel chains and merge them out of existence, getting bonuses for being the majority shareholder (or at least plurality). At the end of the game, whoever has the most money wins.
My dad grew up in a family with 7 kids and they had a pretty large board game collection which I also got to use as the next generation of board game players. They had an original edition of Acquire from the 60s, which I played many times. It is indeed quite fun. I wish I had hung unto it. Unfortunately, I think it got tossed or scattered to the winds.
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Re: Board Games

#57 Post by Lions »

I'm going to respond to Stone Age and then comment on some other games I've played a bit more since this thread was posted, in no particular order.
Longshoremen wrote:Stone Age is a game that I've only played solo, and only on the iPad. It's a resource gathering game like Settlers, but without the map, and without the annoying tendency of Settlers for everyone to gang up on the leader.
Stone Age has become one of our more regularly played games despite the fact that we don't own it. I actually bought it for some friends and it's always high on both our lists to play. If you're not familiar with the game, James' comment about Settlers should not be interpreted as it being a similar game to Settlers. Both involve acquiring resources, but the similarities stop there. Stone Age is a worker placement game, which means you have some people you can use to do things each turn, and the game is focused on who can get the most out of their people given several different options that can lead to points. It's a great gateway game to the worker placement genre because there aren't too many things to do and it's relatively clear how each thing can help you in the long run, whether or not it's a good idea for you now.

Dominion is a game that since this thread went up, I have played with some additional expansions. I have a friend who has almost all of them and I have 5 now. I won't be buying any more because there's really only so many you need and I don't care for some of the more aggressive/frustrating cards. What I continue to like about the game is that each time you start with a new tableau of cards to use in a game, it's like a new logic problem to solve in terms of what combination of cards will get you where you want to be. The mechanics from game to game are the same, but the path to victory is different each time. Often, the winner is whoever seems to have figured out the best combination of cards the quickest.

Love Letter - My wife gave me this game for my birthday last year despite the seemingly cheesy theme and the packaging (it comes in a fancy little red pouch with gold embroidery). There are only 16 cards in the game, and you never have more than 2 of them in your hand at a time. The genius of the game is the simplicity and the fact that the game is a combination of deduction and bluffing. It plays quick, so it often comes out when we don't have much time to play or want something light. It's really a great little game.

Compounded - This is by far the geekiest game we own. It was a Kickstarter game given to my wife by a college friend since my wife was a chemistry major. The game has you running chemistry experiments with the goal to complete molecules. Each time you complete one, you gain experience that allows you to do more in future turns. It's a bit hard to put my finger on exactly why, but we enjoy this one quite a bit and it plays well with 2 players, so that helps. The theme is extremely well integrated, but I feel like the game mechanics would make for a fun game even if the theme was completely different.

Forbidden Desert - This is a sequel of sorts to Forbidden Island, which I have not played, and I understand them to be fairly similar. The Desert version is a coop game where sandstorms threaten to bury you before you and your mates can gather the parts of your ship at the launch site for escape. We played incorrectly several times before realizing we were essentially cheating, and it got much more challenging after that. Still, I don't find the game all that compelling.

Pandemic - One of the most popular coop games, I like it but would generally choose to play something else. I find that too many times, it's a matter of one person (the most experienced) essentially coordinating everyone's actions and then hoping the cards flip just right. All coop games need some randomness to them or you'd always win, but it seems to flip abruptly from easy to really hard, and the strategic options just don't grab me.

7 Wonders - I now own this game and can say it gets a lot of play in our house. We like the fact that you can play it with a lot of people and while it's a challenge the first play through for new gamers due to all the symbols you need to know, by game #2 people typically know enough to do quite well. It's light and plays quick, but it feels like there are plenty of times where you can do something that feels strategic to help you win. Whether or not that move actually has as much of an impact as you want, you typically don't know right away. Games where everyone plays at the same time, like Robo Rally, are always popular since it feels like the game moves and there isn't much downtime, so this will stay high on our list.

I should note that I've played once with the Leaders expansion, and it was ok. It felt like it would make the game more "swingy", meaning your ability to win would be more dependent on if you got good leaders at the start of the game or not. I would need a few more plays to really make an informed decision, but I can't say I was left wanting to do that.

Coin Age - You owe it to yourself to get this game. First off, you can get a basic printable copy of it for free. Secondly, it's portable as it requires a credit card sized map and some change. Literally. You play with pennies, nickles, dimes and a quarter. It's a deceptively deep little area control strategy game for two players, and a game can be played very quickly. On that note, I should say that my wife hates it. The strategy of this simple little game is a bit too deep for what she enjoys, and I've beaten her every time we've played.

Samurai - Oh, why must this game be so hard to find at a reasonable cost? I had a friend introduce this to me and I loved it despite my analysis paralysis. It can be prone to that, particularly for new players. It's elegant and simple and complex and frustrating and looks so much easier than it is.
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Re: Board Games

#58 Post by Bill »

Oh yeah, I forgot about Compounded. I'd love it, but I'd never talk my wife or daughter into playing it.

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Re: Board Games

#59 Post by klewis »

My leisure time is limited to small chunks/blocks of time. I might be able to board game once or twice a month. Lately, I have actually been playing Dominion. I haven't played it in over 1.5 years. But it's been a blast. I forgot how fun it is. I taught it to a small gaming group and it was a success.

Aside from Dominion, the other game that has hit the table lately is Castles of Burgundy. Its theme is rather dry but it is a great Euro. It is easy to learn and fun to play. I apologize beforehand that I don't summarize the game play. Just YouTube it :P

Stone Age wasn't a hit with my group. Worker placement games don't seem to sit well with my group (Agricola bombed as well).

Love Letter was a hit though. It is a great casual, filler game. You can teach the game easily and it is entertaining.

Co-op games haven't fared well with my group either. Haha my group doesn't like direct confrontation but they do not enjoy working together either (go figure :lol:). My group felt Pandemic was a little boring. The theme wasn't immersive to them.

Although not a board game, one game I have been meaning to try out is Android: Netrunner.
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Re: Board Games

#60 Post by Lions »

Ha! No thanks to confrontation or working together. I guess shared solitaire games are for you guys then. I think Dominion and 7 Wonders fit that bill a bit. They can be played pretty independently of what the other players are doing.

I haven't played Agricola yet. I have a friend who owns and loves it, but my impression is that it's too long and dry for the folks I play with most. That said, I'm pretty eager to try it just to know what it's all about.

Android: Netrunner is one that I've read good things about but I don't know anyone who has it or think it'll sit well with my group. We haven't really latched onto anything sci-fi.

Along those lines, I forgot to mention that I've now been exposed to Race for the Galaxy. I thought it was interesting but to me, the comparisons to Dominion are overdone. It feels very different because you don't know what cards you're going to get. It didn't really grab me, which was disappointing as I had heard very good things. My wife did not play, but watched part of the games, and felt like it was a bit much for her. I suspect that more plays would get me to like it.
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