Narz's Board Game Review Thread

[Narz]

Settlers of the Stone Age

My GF and I had this one for months but were too lazy to learn it. Finally we got it out and played last night (with my housemate). I had liked the concept (that's why I got it) and it turns out the actual gameplay is fun too.

Basically all the players start in Africa and have to expand onto the whole planet. You get bonuses for exploring remote areas, as well as being the first player to establish camps on all four continents (Africa doesn't count and North and South America are counted as one).

You need to make advancements (which cost resources) to explore certain areas (either clothing for cold areas or building for area you need a boat to get to, i.e. : Australia). Also, advancements in the food category help your explorers move further to stake out new settlements (there are no roads in this game, you make new settlements with your explorer).

Also, as motavation to not rest down in Africa too long (eventually you must move your settlements there to other parts of the world) desertification happens over time which keeps you moving.

Anyway, feel free to post your reviews of popular or unpopular board games here.

 

[carmen510]

Risk: Great map for the new one, but the battle part in the Indian Ocean and the super-small cards hurt this a bit. Luck is the main factor (AKA, mastering the physics of dice-rolling), with barely any skill involved. The golden cavalry in the new set is good and bad, it allows you to get extra reinforcements, but also goes up in reinforcement count later on, so you may get 4, but next turn the enemy gets 6. A double-edged sword that is really good to use in gameplay. It also takes a long time to play, but easy to set up.

Monopoly: The classic game. Its easy to set up, fun to play, and enjoyable for all ages, until you get 3 hours in. Everybody owns properties, but no one sells or lands on enemy properties. It turns from buying, to attrition. Your only hope is to 'capture' an entire side of the board, preferably Boardwalk. Luck is a small factor, but negotiation is key.

 

[germanicus12]

Modified Version of Risk: Using the same simple board game and rules, but instead we always add new twists, diplomacy, espionage, and sabatoge. So armies dont neccessarily have to conquer terriotories, also armies do not win this game, basically you win when the enemy surrenders to you despite the fact they hold more lands than you. Allies remain allies, unless they backstab you. We even tried a game using a new group, the navy. 3 ships are used, destroyers, subs and battleships. (No carriers as they include planes and we are not ready to go that far yet.) You guys should try this.

 

[Narz]

Can you explain a bit more germanicus?

 

[carmen510]

Sounds like NES.

Another alternate Risk:

We didn't have a navy, but we had an airforce. It could fly across seas, and two territories away on land. (Can't do both) We had tanks, artillery (Cannons), and a money system.