[Gaming] Board Game Praise
- Thread starter Shawn
- Start date
You better keep Junta away from them too!
Hilariously realistic, but not for anyone taking games too seriously...
I got some strangling back in 1991 over Warhammer Fantasy as a shot from my ctapult veered off-course and hit an allied friend's infantry. First he shouted at me why I took the risk and I better shouldn't have tried to calm him down by saing "it's only a game"...
Ah, how I miss game shop people! /sarcasm
As much I liked gaming at my local place, there were those certain set of people who played there that you obviously knew they had no life outside of their game.
He was one of my actual gaming buddies, not shop...
Today he's a lawyer...
Civilization, just for the sheer epicness. It's just as good to play and as hard to stop as the computer game and you better plan on playing a whole weekend if you want the full experience!
And even though it's more of a card game I absolutely love Avalon Hill's Atlantic Storm, captures quite the feeling and spirit of those convoy battles in WW2.
We have a closet absolutely stuffed to the rafters (it's a small closet, meant to be a linen closet) with board games. Our favorites are a series of games released by Mayfair Games, that are rail games, like EuroRails, Russian Rails, China Rails, Lunar Rails, Tokyo Rails, India Rails (we kind of went all out) and, sadly, Empire Builder (which was their version of America Rails, but they did a really crappy job of landscaping the US and understanding what's really produced in most US cities).
We've also really enjoyed Arkham Horror, Shadows over Camelot, Apples to Apples (which is really more a card game than a board game), and of course, Munchkin.
But then we went over to a friend's house to play a session of Shadowrun, and our closet was put to shame by their wall of games. Though, to be fair, they have an excuse. One of them works for WotC as a game designer. And on that note, we had a lot of fun with Lords of Waterdeep.
We've also really enjoyed Arkham Horror, Shadows over Camelot, Apples to Apples (which is really more a card game than a board game), and of course, Munchkin.
But then we went over to a friend's house to play a session of Shadowrun, and our closet was put to shame by their wall of games. Though, to be fair, they have an excuse. One of them works for WotC as a game designer. And on that note, we had a lot of fun with Lords of Waterdeep.
I loved Munchkin, until about the fourth time playing it suddenly dawned on me that every single game ends almost exactly the same two ways. One person is in the lead and about to win, everybody goes all out and pull out all the stops to stop this from happening, he will either pull it off anyway and win or he won't and the second place person will win in the next round or two.
That's sort of the point. The game is about simulating a pen and paper session that has gone off the rails. Those NEVER end well.
I didn't see Dominant Species, which is a phenomenal game of worker placement/area control.
Libertalia is a pirate game with decks and plays a decent amount of players.
7 Wonders is of course a classic card draft game where you build a society.
Citadels is a role selection game which causes you to choose a role and build cities with cards
Bang! is an excellent party game to play around a table, roles are randomly dealt out and every 'faction' has a different goal for winning
I could do a whole lot more. Love me some board games!
Libertalia is a pirate game with decks and plays a decent amount of players.
7 Wonders is of course a classic card draft game where you build a society.
Citadels is a role selection game which causes you to choose a role and build cities with cards
Bang! is an excellent party game to play around a table, roles are randomly dealt out and every 'faction' has a different goal for winning
I could do a whole lot more. Love me some board games!
Yeah, that can be frustrating, especially if you out yourself as a bandit early and get trounced for it.
Have you played any of the Mystery Rummy games or Plato 3000?
Oh shit, I forgot Glory to Rome, which may have the most confusing card rules ever written for the most elegant game design ever.
Battlestar Galactica, Pegasus expansion. A great game, as some people have stated previously. I guess my group of friends hasn't been able to come up with proper human strategies yet, since in most of our games, the cylon players end up winning.
Brass. A game set in north-western England during the Industrial Revolution. The players build cotton mills, forges, canals, railroads, and various other things to sell stuff to the markets for money used to build more. A nice game and a fun way to spend an evening.
Agricola. You take the place of a prosperous medieval farmer, and try to build up your farm by planting crops, acquiring livestock, building improvements, doing other things, and procreating madly to produce more workers for your farm. It is a nice game, though in my opinion a bit too much of your game is determined by the quality of the Occupation and Minor Improvement cards you get dealt with at the start, particularly when combined with the hyper-competitive nature fostered by the game board. Poor cards or ones that are spread all over the place make it very difficult to win against competent opposition.
Brass. A game set in north-western England during the Industrial Revolution. The players build cotton mills, forges, canals, railroads, and various other things to sell stuff to the markets for money used to build more. A nice game and a fun way to spend an evening.
Agricola. You take the place of a prosperous medieval farmer, and try to build up your farm by planting crops, acquiring livestock, building improvements, doing other things, and procreating madly to produce more workers for your farm. It is a nice game, though in my opinion a bit too much of your game is determined by the quality of the Occupation and Minor Improvement cards you get dealt with at the start, particularly when combined with the hyper-competitive nature fostered by the game board. Poor cards or ones that are spread all over the place make it very difficult to win against competent opposition.
BANG! is one of those games where there are simple rules to playing it properly. Each role has it's own tactics that really need to be observed to give you a better chance at victory.
Sheriff: It's not your job to guess who is who. If anything you are doing your self a disservice by attacking someone at random. If you get your deputy killed (or even the renegade) you are increasing the odds for everyone else. What should you do? Sit back and relax. If you are playing with expansions, just stock up on blue and green cards. Prepare for war. Once the deputy(s) is(are) dead you know that everyone else is fair game. Just remember that the Renegade is on your side until you and he are the last man standing.
Deputy: You have the easiest role, because you know exactly who is who. You know everyone else besides the Sheriff is a target. Use this to your advantage by picking fights with people who can't defend themselves. Start with the person on your immediate right (skipping the Sheriff). If you draw blood, the others will likely go for the kill.
Renegade: Same as the Deputy, but you might want to sit back a bit and see who goes after who. You'll have to take chances more than the other roles, but your biggest challenge will be preparing yourself to go head to head against the sheriff. And if he's been stocking up, you better as well.
Bandit: Everyone wants to kill you. Even other bandits. But honestly they shouldn't. Bandits can take out a Sheriff in one turn if they work together. The longer the game goes on the worst your chances are that you'll be able to take down the Sheriff. Your best option is to attack within the first or the second round. And if you are directly to the Sheriff's left you better damn well be the first person to open fire. Yes it outs you right from the start, but if the other bandits are smart they will take the hint. They will each get a turn before the Sheriff has the chance to defend himself.
Sheriff: It's not your job to guess who is who. If anything you are doing your self a disservice by attacking someone at random. If you get your deputy killed (or even the renegade) you are increasing the odds for everyone else. What should you do? Sit back and relax. If you are playing with expansions, just stock up on blue and green cards. Prepare for war. Once the deputy(s) is(are) dead you know that everyone else is fair game. Just remember that the Renegade is on your side until you and he are the last man standing.
Deputy: You have the easiest role, because you know exactly who is who. You know everyone else besides the Sheriff is a target. Use this to your advantage by picking fights with people who can't defend themselves. Start with the person on your immediate right (skipping the Sheriff). If you draw blood, the others will likely go for the kill.
Renegade: Same as the Deputy, but you might want to sit back a bit and see who goes after who. You'll have to take chances more than the other roles, but your biggest challenge will be preparing yourself to go head to head against the sheriff. And if he's been stocking up, you better as well.
Bandit: Everyone wants to kill you. Even other bandits. But honestly they shouldn't. Bandits can take out a Sheriff in one turn if they work together. The longer the game goes on the worst your chances are that you'll be able to take down the Sheriff. Your best option is to attack within the first or the second round. And if you are directly to the Sheriff's left you better damn well be the first person to open fire. Yes it outs you right from the start, but if the other bandits are smart they will take the hint. They will each get a turn before the Sheriff has the chance to defend himself.
I love the expansion where there is a card that brings back all the eliminated players as ghosts for one round. They get a full hand of cards and can play as normal. Once the round ends they are dead again.
Renegade absolutely is the hardest role to play. In the online game he's also worth the most points if you are victorious. Heck. You even get a small bonus if you are alive no matter how the game resolves.
Mostly this. I enjoy the computer version of Risk for old-style Macs, but playing against other real humans just leads to too much tension.
I would have mentioned Fluxx (I have the standard and the Monty Python variants), except that I don't consider it a board game.
--Patrick
http://xkcd.com/759/It's a game I play when I'm bored, and it has over one hundred very thin, small boards.
QED.
Read the rollover.
--Patrick
Dominion is great fun for a specific type of person. The expansions allow very different play styles; make a good choice about what you like and don't. I have no love whatsoever for cards that let you mess up each other's decks, and prefer more "peaceful" card combinations, but to each their own.
if you like Dominion, there's a good chance you'll like Puzzle Strike as well. Different graphical style, it plays with chips instead of cards, but it's a bit similar and in some ways more fun. Definitely more involved/aggressive.
stienman : if you like Puerto Rico but think it takes too long, give San Juan a spin. It's the card game based on it. Slightly simplified, but easier to play (can easily be played in train or car) with practically no set-up and goes a lot faster.
If you can manage Risk without fighting, try Attack!. Awesome game (the board being about 2.5 m² helps
), less luck-based and more in-depth, it's Risk to the next level. Don't try to finish a game in under 8 hours though. Err, that's with expansion? Without, it's just a meh version of Risk
Argicola is fun, but I agree it's too luck-based. Crappy cards will lose you the game if you're playing players from anywhere near the same level.
Le Havre, from the same creators, solves that but is even more complex and takes even longer. Not for the faint of heart, but it IS a fun and interesting experience once you get the hang of it.
if you like Dominion, there's a good chance you'll like Puzzle Strike as well. Different graphical style, it plays with chips instead of cards, but it's a bit similar and in some ways more fun. Definitely more involved/aggressive.
stienman : if you like Puerto Rico but think it takes too long, give San Juan a spin. It's the card game based on it. Slightly simplified, but easier to play (can easily be played in train or car) with practically no set-up and goes a lot faster.
If you can manage Risk without fighting, try Attack!. Awesome game (the board being about 2.5 m² helps
), less luck-based and more in-depth, it's Risk to the next level. Don't try to finish a game in under 8 hours though. Err, that's with expansion? Without, it's just a meh version of Risk Argicola is fun, but I agree it's too luck-based. Crappy cards will lose you the game if you're playing players from anywhere near the same level.
Le Havre, from the same creators, solves that but is even more complex and takes even longer. Not for the faint of heart, but it IS a fun and interesting experience once you get the hang of it.
I'm surprised to see Arkham Horror come up so much in this thread! It is a beast of a board game. I happen to looooove cooperative board games. I like competitive ones too, but coop games are my favorite. Arkham is high on the list. I also like Pandemic, especially with the expansion, and BSG (which is only partly coop). Over spring break, I played a lot of Ghost Stories, which is hard as hell but lots of fun, and some Sentinels of the Multiverse. My wife received Mice and Mystics for Christmas, which is an epic fantasy adventure that we have to continue one of these days. Last year, I pledged to the coop game Zombicide, which I think just about everyone here would love to play. They just Kickstarted two expansions, smashing the pledge total record for board games.
For competitive games, I like Small World (with micro expansions), Neuroshima Hex is fun, Stone Age, Suburbia (which is better than Vegas Showdown, I think), and if you like some lighter fare, Catan and Ticket to Ride are classic, Marrakech is worth checking out, and Pastiche is probably the most beautiful game I've ever played.
If you're in southern Oregon on the I-5 corridor and want to try a few games you've probably never played before, give me a jingle! :-p
For competitive games, I like Small World (with micro expansions), Neuroshima Hex is fun, Stone Age, Suburbia (which is better than Vegas Showdown, I think), and if you like some lighter fare, Catan and Ticket to Ride are classic, Marrakech is worth checking out, and Pastiche is probably the most beautiful game I've ever played.
If you're in southern Oregon on the I-5 corridor and want to try a few games you've probably never played before, give me a jingle! :-p
We had to fail at that game 4 or 5 times before we started beating it. It has a brutal learning curve.
I remember thinking the same thing with Arkham Horror now any group I'm with needs to have a bunch of extra rules to even risk losing the game.
My current Obsession is Lords of Waterdeep. You play as the guys in the shadowy bar who send adventurers out on quests to gain presitge and power in Waterdeep. It's an awesome game and I always come out having a blast even if I lose badly.
I loves me some Waterdeep. Great game.
True but everyone has equal chance of picking them up. And for all the underpowered combinations, those usually sit until the end of the game and get a giant bank on them, sometimes making it worth picking them just for that alone.
We bought the realms expansion yesterday and the map variety that it adds is awesome.
How do you pronounce that? In India, it's a surname and is pronounced Dik-shit. No joke.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dikshit
Though some spell it differently.
It's more or less how I pronounce it in Spanish (dic-sit), and I guess it's similar in the original Latin
This is the game http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/39856/dixit[DOUBLEPOST=1365178745][/DOUBLEPOST]Ninja'd
This is the game http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/39856/dixit[DOUBLEPOST=1365178745][/DOUBLEPOST]Ninja'd