Which tabletop games do or did you play? (if any)

[hobbsyoyo]

I recently played Settlers of Catan for the first time and it was much more fun than I anticipated.

I used to have Risk 3000 or something like that; it was Risk in Space. It was ok but there was just too much going on and so you hardly ever got to use all of the features (like claiming parts of the moon). Classic Risk is better in my opinion as it is simple yet complex.

Laser Chess is pretty awesome (Khet 2.0) but I really wish I had some of the cool option beam-splitters.

 

[Narz]

I recently played Settlers of Catan for the first time and it was much more fun than I anticipated.

It's one of the most perfect games I've played.

I've been playing a lot more Dominion lately but I think Catan is a better designed game.

1. Almost all Catan games are fun whereas some Dominion decks are boring.
2. Learning curve allows new players to catch on very quickly & even have a chance to win (though of course, more experiences players will usually win)
3. Much more social with trading & whatnot
4. Chicks like it
5. Setup is fairly quick & easy whereas Dominion is a huge pain in the ass to set up (not an issue for playing online)

Just comparing those two since they're the two modern tabletop games I know the best.

 

[Steph]

Anyone played civilization? The "old" boardame? It had some really fun elements.

The rules make it very difficult to eliminate someone. And you have different parts, trading is quite fun.

There's also Diplomacy, I forgot about it.

And anyone knows Vinci? It's fun too.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

Anyone played civilization? The "old" boardame? It had some really fun elements.

The rules make it very difficult to eliminate someone. And you have different parts, trading is quite fun.

The people I hung out with back in the '80s and '90s were a group that were simultaneously into the Society for Creative Anachronism, tabletop gaming, Dungeons & Dragons, computer gaming, and science fiction fandom. We played a lot of this Civilization game.

I recall one game when three of us got together on New Years Eve. Neither of the guys expected me to win, but that Civil Disorder card came up at exactly the right time, and my boyfriend never knew what hit him. I slipped him the card in the trading round and our friend, who usually won, didn't mind losing that time since the expression on my boyfriend's face was just priceless.

 

[The_J]

Anyone played civilization? The "old" boardame? It had some really fun elements.

I'd like to, but the game is out of press, and a used version will be at least 80 bucks :/.

 

[Steph]

You can download a PDF version if you don't mind printing it and assembling it yourself.
Actually, I did that last year, and I replaced the counter with images of CivIII units .
And I redid the map too

 

[Kyriakos]

^Now all you need is a cassette recorder playing CivIII themes on the background

 

[PhroX]

It's one of the most perfect games I've played.

I've been playing a lot more Dominion lately but I think Catan is a better designed game.

1. Almost all Catan games are fun whereas some Dominion decks are boring.
2. Learning curve allows new players to catch on very quickly & even have a chance to win (though of course, more experiences players will usually win)
3. Much more social with trading & whatnot
4. Chicks like it
5. Setup is fairly quick & easy whereas Dominion is a huge pain in the ass to set up (not an issue for playing online)

Just comparing those two since they're the two modern tabletop games I know the best.

Pretty much agree with this on Catan. It's not my favourite board game (I like it, but there's others I'd rather play), but I have to admit it is fantastically well designed. It manages to be both the perfect game for getting people into playing "proper" board games (as in, not the crap like Monopoly and Risk you played when growing up), and still engaging for more experienced players.

 

[Yeekim]

Pretty much agree with this on Catan. It's not my favourite board game (I like it, but there's others I'd rather play), but I have to admit it is fantastically well designed. It manages to be both the perfect game for getting people into playing "proper" board games (as in, not the crap like Monopoly and Risk you played when growing up), and still engaging for more experienced players.

Yeah, it's a great "gateway" game, but after some point over-reliance on dice and general unpredictability that comes with it becomes a bit frustrating.

 

[Hygro]

I win Catan almost every time I play. It's not a very random game. 2 dice makes it fairly even.

 

[Evie]

Well, it's true that it's not Risk or Dices and Allies, so not THAT overreliant on dice.

But I'm in the camp that say the least dices used the better.

 

[Narz]

Pretty much agree with this on Catan. It's not my favourite board game (I like it, but there's others I'd rather play), but I have to admit it is fantastically well designed. It manages to be both the perfect game for getting people into playing "proper" board games (as in, not the crap like Monopoly and Risk you played when growing up), and still engaging for more experienced players.

So which games do you like better? I'm always looking for new ones to try.

I win Catan almost every time I play. It's not a very random game. 2 dice makes it fairly even.

I think the element of randomness is just the right amount for a social game.

Also, maybe you play with people who are just poor gamers. I'm shocked how bad some people are, even ones who take time out of their days to come to the live Catan meetups, they box themselves into bad locations, overvalue ports, don't consider the necessity of a variety of resources, etc.

 

[PhroX]

So which games do you like better? I'm always looking for new ones to try.

I listed a bunch further up the page - Cosmic Encounter in particular is, IMO, a must have for any gaming group.

Some more ideas though:
Ticket to Ride: Europe (I suspect most "serious" gamers have played a TtR - it is one of the classic gateway games - but if you haven't, the Europe version in particular is very good)
Shogun
Galaxy Truckers
Small World
7 Wonders
Game of Thrones: The Board Game

If you like more cooperative games, Pandemic and Forbidden Island are pretty good, though personally, I'd rather be able to screw over the other players, way more fun

 

[Narz]

Sorry I missed your earlier post.

I saw the DiceTower review of Forbidden Island, I thought of getting it for my daughter (6), maybe in one or two more years.

I've played Ticket to Ride, the others I haven't. 7 Wonders looked cool. If you could recmmend just one that's fairly easy to set up & teach to others but still contains depth which would you recommend?

 

[Arakhor]

For me, that's either Alhambra or 7 Wonders.

 

[bhavv]

Id love to join for such a civilization or similar themed board game, but what can I don when absolutely no one I've ever known was even into chess or video games? Why have I been forsaken as such??? Sigh ... Plays monopoly alone on my cellphone, and chess alone on my PC again QQ.

 

[Narz]

Sigh ... Plays monopoly alone on my cellphone, and chess alone on my PC again QQ.

There's no reason to play anything alone if you have the Internet (unless you want to).

 

[bhavv]

There's a big difference between board games and online games.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

Id love to join for such a civilization or similar themed board game, but what can I don when absolutely no one I've ever known was even into chess or video games? Why have I been forsaken as such??? Sigh ... Plays monopoly alone on my cellphone, and chess alone on my PC again QQ.

I took part in a PBEM game of Civilization a few years ago. Unfortunately I've lost contact with the person who hosted it.

 

[Narz]

There's a big difference between board games and online games.

Both are better played against humans, IMO (even if just a remote human from across the world).