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Re: Board Games

Posted: Thu Feb 19, 2015 7:11 pm
by Lions
I was given Forbidden Desert for my birthday last year. It's a cooperative game that, IMO, lends itself a bit more to strategic collaboration than a game like Pandemic does, which tends to result in a strong player directing everyone's actions. I'm not sure if that's just because I've only played it with other experienced gamers. It's definitely light enough to be a family game, although my kids are still a bit young for it. Like most cooperative games, the difficulty level is escalated simply by starting at a point where danger is more frequent. The various character roles are fun to mix and match to give some more replayability. In my opinion, the best thing about it is the way that you have to collect items from an unknown location on the board. Sometimes that means it's better to spread out, but at other times you'll need to be close to each other to accomplish certain things. That tension between staying together or splitting up makes it fun, too.

I'm not a fan of the tin it comes in.

Re: Board Games

Posted: Thu Feb 19, 2015 8:28 pm
by John
Settlers Of Catan to follow in Battleship’s proud tradition of becoming a movie
Alex McCown of A.V. Club wrote:Soon it will be spring, when a young producer’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of film adaptations of existing properties. No doubt frustrated that Universal has already snapped up the rights to such story-rich Hasbro games as Monopoly and Candy Land—along with the already-produced (and tremendously successful) movie version of Battleship and Ouija—producer Gail Katz has been forced to settle for a game that actually has some vague semblance of plot. Despite being saddled with the inconvenience of an actual pre-existing narrative of sorts, Deadline reports that the producer of The Perfect Storm and Air Force One has acquired the film and televison rights to Settlers Of Catan, the bestselling multiplayer strategy game.
We were just talking about this game. Tell me, boardgamers: is there enough meat here for a solid film? I want to be interested, but I have the vile taste of Battleship still fresh in my mouth ...

Re: Board Games

Posted: Fri Feb 20, 2015 1:56 am
by Lions
Nope. On the other hand, Hollywood is generally capable of filling in details when they need to. The real questions is how well they do that.

Re: Board Games

Posted: Fri Feb 20, 2015 12:11 pm
by Bill
Agreed. I think Hollywood kinda prefers the blank slate, unlike a book adaptation where people complain about it either being too long or leaving parts out or modifying parts to fit their narrative.

Re: Board Games

Posted: Fri Feb 20, 2015 4:55 pm
by Coqui
In my mind, Katz basically just bought the rights to name a movie 'Settlers of Catan'. There's nothing particularly narrative-y about the game. This quote kind of slayed me:
The island of Catan is a vivid, visual, exciting and timeless world with classic themes and moral challenges that resonate today.
No, it's not. Or if it is, maybe Ms. Katz and her college age kids who introduced her to the game have some pretty elaborate house rules.

Re: Board Games

Posted: Fri Feb 20, 2015 7:59 pm
by Lions
I guess there is Das Buch to draw from...

Re: Board Games

Posted: Thu Mar 05, 2015 9:27 pm
by Alleghenies
I know some of you guys play a forum version of the Werewolf game.

I was wondering what you guys thought about this game, if you have heard about it or played it before. It seems to be fairly popular.

I was considering carrying it for my store and was wondering what you guys thought before I bought it & play tested it.

Re: Board Games

Posted: Fri Mar 06, 2015 3:15 pm
by Lions
I've not played it, but it looks interesting enough. I just finished up a game over at Eurobricks where the final day came down to 1 town, 1 mafia (me), and 1 neutral serial killer. Reducing the game down to a 1 day-phase affair seems like it would create for broader appeal to more casual gamers, so that sounds good to me. Resistance is another game that tries to replicate the Werewolf/Mafia experience without elimination but keeps the multiple day approach. I think Coup is similar, but haven't played it.

Re: Board Games

Posted: Fri Mar 06, 2015 5:15 pm
by klewis
I was about to mention Resistance as well. I have not tried One Night Werewolf (and probably will never get a chance to). Resistance is pretty much my "go-to" casual, social game where the player count is higher.

Sorry that this post did not help in terms of the original question but a thumbs up to Resistance.

Re: Board Games

Posted: Fri Mar 06, 2015 6:02 pm
by Alleghenies
Yeah, part of the problem is that I do not really have any go to social games. I normally play in smaller groups or with just my wife, so I normally don't really have the need for large player count games.

I do carry Formula D, which is an awesome racing game for 10 players. I LOVE it, but I want some more depth in my house and in the games I carry.

On another note, I just bought and am expanding my store line Descent, which is basically like a board game version of D&D, making it more accessible to new players. Also on order from FFG is Cosmic Encounter, BattleLore and Star Wars Imperial Assault.

The worst part is that I must playtest all these games taking each to be a demo copy, to make sure they are not boring and get to write it off as business expenses.

Re: Board Games

Posted: Fri Mar 06, 2015 6:19 pm
by Leones
Cosmic Encounter is one of the all time greats. I still have an ancient copy. Used to have a lot of fun playing that in college.

Re: Board Games

Posted: Sat Jul 11, 2015 12:24 pm
by Tyler
So since I've last posted here, I spent a year working at a board game store. Recent favorites include Elysium and Dominion: Adventures. I kickstarted Evolution and its expansion, which should be arriving shortly.

And, of course, I finally got my hands on a copy of Railways of the World (based on Steam/Age of Steam, but with the cutthroat economics/bidding/ability auction removed), which should get played for the second time tomorrow. :D

Re: Board Games

Posted: Mon Jul 20, 2015 3:28 pm
by klewis
Welcome back Tyler :)

Dominion is still pretty fun for me as well. I haven't played it recently. Dominion is about the right weight for my gaming group. Other games we have been playing include Puerto Rico and Citadels.

Since this is a baseball forum, this is the baseball game to follow: Baseball Highlights 2045.

Re: Board Games

Posted: Mon Jul 20, 2015 3:52 pm
by Arroyos
Featherheads wrote: Since this is a baseball forum, this is the baseball game to follow: Baseball Highlights 2045.
I'm still trying to come to terms with batting gloves and batting helmets, not to mention protective foot and arm padding, but this game envisions robots and borgs playing baseball in 2045. "The horror!" Thank heavens I will be planted in the Elysian Fields before then.

Re: Board Games

Posted: Mon Jul 20, 2015 5:32 pm
by Borealis
Barry Sosa? Sacrilege...