It's basically chess with different rules on the real board and complex rules.
The 'simple' closed game how they call it - I couldn't even find anything about this on the Internet, but that one is more like stratego.
What boardgames did you just play?
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It's basically chess with different rules on the real board and complex rules.
The 'simple' closed game how they call it - I couldn't even find anything about this on the Internet, but that one is more like stratego.
warpus
Sommerswerd asked me to change this
I played Kolejka / Queue with some friends.
It's a Polish board game that simulates life in communist Poland and the "waiting in line for stuff" culture we had. It sounds incredibly boring but it's actually incredibly fun, once you figure out the rules (Manual is 38 pages, a bit intimidating at first)
We're all definitely playing it again, and for context I was the only Pole in the group, everybody else was Canadians who were born in Canada. So the game appeals to more than just people who used to live in communist Poland, etc.
It's a Polish board game that simulates life in communist Poland and the "waiting in line for stuff" culture we had. It sounds incredibly boring but it's actually incredibly fun, once you figure out the rules (Manual is 38 pages, a bit intimidating at first)
We're all definitely playing it again, and for context I was the only Pole in the group, everybody else was Canadians who were born in Canada. So the game appeals to more than just people who used to live in communist Poland, etc.
CivCube
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Played through one tutorial round of Here I Stand before making a day of it next month. It's definitely an Ed Beach game; there's more granular emphasis on illustrating the theme in the mechanics while still maintaining a fairly straightforward rules structure. One player decided the GMT format wasn't for him, so we have another player jumping on board.
I like it so far! There's a nifty use of religion here that slowly develops the Reformation throughout a sea of solid-color Catholic spaces. There are some similarities to Civ 6's religion but there are more differences with the card-driven play.
I like it so far! There's a nifty use of religion here that slowly develops the Reformation throughout a sea of solid-color Catholic spaces. There are some similarities to Civ 6's religion but there are more differences with the card-driven play.
Chukchi Husky
Lone Wolf
I played Risk over the weekend. I lost the game, but everyone seemed to agree that I was the strongest player and the most likely to win.
CivCube
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Terraforming Mars fell flat for me this first time. It's like if Race for the Galaxy kept a static turn order and had you wait a couple turns to do things that are really obvious. Card draw seems to be the main variable, as one player struck it rich with resources by virtue of a few lucky foundation cards at the beginning. I'll have to try again with the asymmetrical identities and see if the game flows better.
Condottiere is just a fun little card game with just enough area control to give the play some structure. The Surrender card ended up being the hilarious conclusion to our first try right after one player passed. I suspect playing at a full player count will help with keeping track of cards.
Condottiere is just a fun little card game with just enough area control to give the play some structure. The Surrender card ended up being the hilarious conclusion to our first try right after one player passed. I suspect playing at a full player count will help with keeping track of cards.
CelJaded
DENOUNCING!
I've been playing a lot of Dark Souls: The Board Game and have just put up a full review today: http://www.celjaded.com/review-dark-souls-the-board-game/
http://www.celjaded.com/review-dark-souls-the-board-game/
Fair warning though; it's quite a long one!
http://www.celjaded.com/review-dark-souls-the-board-game/
Fair warning though; it's quite a long one!
CivCube
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I think Archipelago is going to need a few more plays for us to really get into it. The rulebook, although delightfully illustrated and laid out, has more than a few ambiguities, especially regarding the definition of engaged/disengaged units. The exploration mechanic also proved to be more frustrating than interesting for a couple players. I continue to be frustrated by the game's abrupt ending--the secret end conditions and victory points may be interesting in future plays but it can feel like a lot of luck.
Still, the game is wonderfully done in its attention to mechanics and detail. It's great to see a single sea space expand out to a little landmass covering your table, and the tension between keeping the population satisfied and pursuing your own ends was an eye-opener in 2012. Hopefully I can get it back on the table before two years go by again.
We also played a bit of the basic game for Arctic Scavengers. It's kind of perfect how the Dominion kingdom cards are reinterpreted as mercenaries you can bring into combat. What it might lack in Dominion's screwy little chain effects, it more than makes up for in theme and bluffing. And in contrast to Dominion's million expansions, it's just a complete game by itself, especially if you bought the full version with the Recon expansion. I can't wait to try all the modules. I was a little worried that sleeving all the cards would bend them in storage, but nothing seemed to be marked during play. Woohoo!
Still, the game is wonderfully done in its attention to mechanics and detail. It's great to see a single sea space expand out to a little landmass covering your table, and the tension between keeping the population satisfied and pursuing your own ends was an eye-opener in 2012. Hopefully I can get it back on the table before two years go by again.
We also played a bit of the basic game for Arctic Scavengers. It's kind of perfect how the Dominion kingdom cards are reinterpreted as mercenaries you can bring into combat. What it might lack in Dominion's screwy little chain effects, it more than makes up for in theme and bluffing. And in contrast to Dominion's million expansions, it's just a complete game by itself, especially if you bought the full version with the Recon expansion. I can't wait to try all the modules. I was a little worried that sleeving all the cards would bend them in storage, but nothing seemed to be marked during play. Woohoo!
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Played a game of Trump: The Game tonight. Wasn't sure what to expect, but it actually was pretty fun. On the surface it looks like it will play like Monopoly, but the bidding elements of it and the various effects of the secret-from-other-players Trump cards mean that it plays out quite differently, and in a good way. Much more player-to-player interaction, the tension of bidding games when determining if you are paying too much (and a good amount of uncertainty of how much is too much, at least in the first play-through), deal-making, and opportunities to antagonize your opponents (just try not to antagonize them so much they won't make deals later!). Comments included, "I hate you" [toward another player], "this is actually pretty good", and "I'd play this again". There certainly is an element of luck, but there are also are elements of knowing when to play or keep your cards, knowing how much various properties (your own or others) are likely to be worth, and mastering the art of the deal.
Overall it definitely winds up being above the classic American games (Monopoly, Risk). Although not as pure of a bidding game as Panic on Wall Street!, the latter requires 5-11 players and players better with more, and Trump only requires 3 or 4 players, so I could see it making a return when a smaller group wants to play a game with bidding. And sometimes the fact that it's not a pure bidding game could be a positive as well.
The elephant in the room, of course, will be the political opinions in your group of the real estate mogul. I was mainly curious if this was actually a good game or not (recent reviews tend to be fairly politicized, but earlier ones seemed pretty decent). For what it's worth, I'm about 99% sure that all of the players in our session voted Clinton in November.
Overall it definitely winds up being above the classic American games (Monopoly, Risk). Although not as pure of a bidding game as Panic on Wall Street!, the latter requires 5-11 players and players better with more, and Trump only requires 3 or 4 players, so I could see it making a return when a smaller group wants to play a game with bidding. And sometimes the fact that it's not a pure bidding game could be a positive as well.
The elephant in the room, of course, will be the political opinions in your group of the real estate mogul. I was mainly curious if this was actually a good game or not (recent reviews tend to be fairly politicized, but earlier ones seemed pretty decent). For what it's worth, I'm about 99% sure that all of the players in our session voted Clinton in November.
PhroX
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Played a few new (for me) games over the last couple of weeks.
The standout is Ponzi Scheme which, well, pretty much does exactly what it says on the tin. You take out increasingly large loans to afford to both invest in industries and pay off the increasingly large interest of your previous loans desperately trying to stay solvent longer than at least one of your opponents - at which point you hope you've got the best investments. Throw in secret trading between players (with the result you've little idea how much money other people have) and semi-random market crashes (which make interest on loans payable earlier) and it leads to a very fun mix of bluffing and brinksmanship. The second game of it I played ended up with a badly timed crash, four of us going bankrupt, and the sole survivor winning with a grand total of one point.
The Captain is Dead was a pretty fun Pandemic-like game (cooperative race against the clock with increasingly bad stuff happening). I'm not usually madly keen on those style of games, but the theme (a Star Trek-esque space ship escaping from hostile aliens) was well incorporated into the game mechanics, and the one play I had ended up with exactly the kind of tense ending a game like this needs (desperately praying that the next two reveals didn't result in us getting blown up before we could fix the engines).
I also enjoyed Junk Art, a game about creating structures from a collection of awkwardly shaped wooden pieces and hoping they don't fall down. The only real problem I had was that it has quite a range of game modes, and of the three we played, the first, Monaco, was noticeably better than the others, involving controlling what pieces one of your opponents has to play, hoping to make the collapse and lose but also having to take over their structure every three turns. The other two were just a matter of building as high as you can with some extra constraints which, while fun, wasn't as good as the first one.
The standout is Ponzi Scheme which, well, pretty much does exactly what it says on the tin. You take out increasingly large loans to afford to both invest in industries and pay off the increasingly large interest of your previous loans desperately trying to stay solvent longer than at least one of your opponents - at which point you hope you've got the best investments. Throw in secret trading between players (with the result you've little idea how much money other people have) and semi-random market crashes (which make interest on loans payable earlier) and it leads to a very fun mix of bluffing and brinksmanship. The second game of it I played ended up with a badly timed crash, four of us going bankrupt, and the sole survivor winning with a grand total of one point.
The Captain is Dead was a pretty fun Pandemic-like game (cooperative race against the clock with increasingly bad stuff happening). I'm not usually madly keen on those style of games, but the theme (a Star Trek-esque space ship escaping from hostile aliens) was well incorporated into the game mechanics, and the one play I had ended up with exactly the kind of tense ending a game like this needs (desperately praying that the next two reveals didn't result in us getting blown up before we could fix the engines).
I also enjoyed Junk Art, a game about creating structures from a collection of awkwardly shaped wooden pieces and hoping they don't fall down. The only real problem I had was that it has quite a range of game modes, and of the three we played, the first, Monaco, was noticeably better than the others, involving controlling what pieces one of your opponents has to play, hoping to make the collapse and lose but also having to take over their structure every three turns. The other two were just a matter of building as high as you can with some extra constraints which, while fun, wasn't as good as the first one.
Jimmyhocky21
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Might I also suggest Kemet? It's somewhat similar to Risk only it doesn't have dice-throwing. I admit I haven't played it yet but it sounds awesome.
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CivCube
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I don't think Age of Steam is quite the "gamer's game" the hardcore crowd likes to say it is, but it's still a fun time. It's probably about as complex as Five Tribes or Tash-Kalar in terms of tactical placement--in fact, it's surprisingly similar to Five Tribes for its auction mechanic and placing colored cubes in a certain fashion. The light theme pays off when you're delivering goods across a quickly developed map, choo-chooing despite yourself and the horrendous art direction (which is somehow still better than the previous edition). Overall, a very solid game that still holds up from 2002.
Appropriately, I now game in two towns, connecting two areas of my life like a railroad.
Appropriately, I now game in two towns, connecting two areas of my life like a railroad.
Till
Adventurer
Small world is good fun. Can recommend! I also played some pandemic lately , warhammer quest, and blood bowl. Really liking blood bowl.
warpus
Sommerswerd asked me to change this
I played Puerto Rico 2 nights ago.
4 players total, really fun overall. Lots of strategy. Seems a bit complicated at first but you quickly get the hang of it.
4 players total, really fun overall. Lots of strategy. Seems a bit complicated at first but you quickly get the hang of it.
CivCube
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Two games I haven't played in a year or more yesterday. I think I might finally kinda grok Alchemists, as opposed to last time when I was playing in a noisy coffee shop. There's so much going on that my head was hurting both times that I was learning the game--the deduction mechanic, publishing and debunking theories, selling potions, and experimentation are all coming at you like a herd of rhinos that got the drop on you. Thankfully, the app is well designed and adds to the theme of dropping random crap into your cauldron and seeing what works, while the rest of the game does a terrific job of emulating good scientific practices in a silly way, even if they should have used "hypothesis" for "theory". It's a fun and even straightforward game, but you have to get through the carefully laid framework first. It's not a game for everyone, but it hits unique highs and is a clear achievement in modern design.
And then I came in second in Power Grid! In hindsight, I was able to squeak by because third place started on the west coast and had more costs to overcome, but he clambered forward into the Midwest and got exactly the cities I needed to buy with the amount I had left. That wasn't the main issue, as all four of us had bought into separate resources, leaving one guy able to leap forward and easily buy up more efficient stations for his chosen resource. This was one of the first times I felt more competitive in this group, though, so that was a good feeling.
And then I came in second in Power Grid! In hindsight, I was able to squeak by because third place started on the west coast and had more costs to overcome, but he clambered forward into the Midwest and got exactly the cities I needed to buy with the amount I had left. That wasn't the main issue, as all four of us had bought into separate resources, leaving one guy able to leap forward and easily buy up more efficient stations for his chosen resource. This was one of the first times I felt more competitive in this group, though, so that was a good feeling.
PhroX
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Played Trains a couple of days ago. It's basically Dominion with a board that some of your cards let you place pieces on. Which is good, as there's at least some degree of interaction with other players through the board (blocking off place, making things more expensive), going part way to address Dominion's crippling flaw of being multiplayer solitaire.
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Speaking of which, I played a new (for me) Dominion expansion last weekend, Dominion: Seaside. No one in our group had played that one yet (we've played base, Intrigue, Hinterlands, Prosperity, and Dark Ages), but it was fun and wound up being an extremely close game. A piracy strategy by the 2nd (me) and 3rd place players changed the equation on silver/gold, and very nearly caught the 1st-place player who went with a more traditional +action/+card stacking strategy. Buying an Estate actually won the 1st place player the game. Unfortunately we played it a few days before International Talk Like a Pirate Day.
Also played Last Night on Earth, the zombie horror board game. I used to play it a lot in 2008 - 2010, but it had been awhile. It was pretty fun, despite the zombies drawing many strong cards early and winning fairly quickly.
I've heard of Power Grid! before, sounds like one I would probably enjoy.
Also played Last Night on Earth, the zombie horror board game. I used to play it a lot in 2008 - 2010, but it had been awhile. It was pretty fun, despite the zombies drawing many strong cards early and winning fairly quickly.
I've heard of Power Grid! before, sounds like one I would probably enjoy.
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