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Thanks for the climbing explanation. I think Kemet is better than Cyclades because you can't turtle.
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Apr 17, 2013 20:49
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Crackbone posted:I personally love Kingdom Builder, but a lot of people find it mediocre. It's a very specific niche, which is a light tactical Euro with ~45 minute playtime. I haven't played it myself, but for some reason I get the impression that Terra Mystica is a meatier Kingdom Builder. Am I wrong in this?
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Apr 17, 2013 20:57
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Crackbone posted:That's a huge bunch of info to process, and I think it's a little silly to ask us to review your collection. That being said, general thoughts: Thanks that was exactly what I was looking for. Yeah I wasn't really expecting anyone to go through my entire collection and the list to tell em everything but I wanted to add that in case anyone was bored or wanted to know what I already had. If anyone else has any other suggestions or comments I would appreciate them. Edit: Is there a game that does whatever The Castles of Burgundy does but better? Trastion fucked around with this message at 21:12 on Apr 17, 2013 |
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Apr 17, 2013 21:07
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I'm going to let Lorini make a better review of the game but my god, Pax Porfiriana is everything and more. Let's just say that in the short 2 player game of it I had I did the following: - Enlisted the aid of the communist party in order to create unrest in one of my own plantations, only to be preempted by some federal troops, thus making my opponent appear like the liberator instead of me (  )- Sold guns to train robbers that were then directed to create unrest in one of my own mines that was being extorted by federal troops under the employ of my opponent. - Filed lawsuit after lawsuit against my opponent in order to take over his mines and repossess communication links that he owned in my own enterprises. - Hired apache scouts and american mercenary artillery companies to boost the strength of my anarchist troops. - Sent some anarchists to extort one of his mine, only for him to nationalize his own enterprise, forcing me to get them back and play my hand as a revolutionary, which allowed him to win a loyalist victory by forcing Diaz to retire. This game is absolutely incredible. 10/10. Would play again. I can't stress how good it is.
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Apr 17, 2013 21:09
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quote:Edit: Is there a game that does whatever The Castles of Burgundy does but better? This may depend on what you interpret Castles of Burgundy as doing. For me, Castles of Burgundy is a game about rolling dice, putting down tiles, and getting points... while, uh, other people do that too. We've played plenty of VP based Euro'ish games where nobody feels like they did well at the end of the game. Somebody wins, sure, but often they don't feel like their strategy worked. Conversely, nobody has ever felt like their strategy in Castles didn't work. Obviously not everyone wins (sometimes someone does even better than you did) but this is a game that loves you. It's like the anti-Dungeon Lords. That's not to say that there isn't a competitive game in there: you're all taking pieces off the same board, and good play will slowly accumulate a points lead. But, at least for us, the competition is very low key. There's enough randomness to take some pressure off of analysis, and there's enough variety that it doesn't feel like you've done this exact thing before. The game works best, I think, played casually and perhaps not at 100% competitive attention. I definitely understand why people would call the game bland. It's a beige game. I don't think anyone wants a shelf full of beige games - but for us, it's the perfect game to relax with after we've stressed ourselves out playing, say, Tigris & Euphrates. Anyway, I really like CoB, but it may not have a place in many game groups. In the genre of "quick, light-ish Euro where you build a little tableau and compete for VP", you might also look at Glen More. It has more "critical decisions" (ie. game outcomes come down to watershed decisions, rather than accumulation of small efficiences) and more extensive interaction (that use some clever mechanics - the time/piece board is really well implemented). Note that if you do get Glen More, you should really replace the keg tokens. The ones that come with it are lame and, as with Lords of Waterdeep, the proper components make all the difference between "pasted-on-feeling-theme" and "bow to Chief McWhiskey". quote:Pax... I can't stress how good it is. You have stressed it adequately enough for me to check this game out. I've been wanting to try a Tekopo game for a while, this one sounds like it might fit me good. jmzero fucked around with this message at 21:41 on Apr 17, 2013 |
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Apr 17, 2013 21:34
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The game itself is actually pretty simple and easy to play, but be careful of the rulebook because apparently it's kind of a minefield.
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Apr 17, 2013 21:54
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Okey dokey, here goes. Pax Porifiriana First a couple of good reviews from BGG. This review describes the game http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/886177/pax-porfiriana-the-game-explained This review is much longer and describes the thematics behind the game: http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/905953/pax-porfiriana The main thrust of the game is that you are trying to overthrow the Mexican dictator Diaz. You can do this through Loyalty, Outrage, Command, or Revolution. There are over 200 cards in the game and many of them have one of those attributes (noting that only about a third of those cards will be in play in any given game). There are also four regimes, Pax Porifiriana (Loyalty), US Intervention (Outrage), Martial Law (Command) or Anarchy (Revolution). As usual you'll need money. But remember this is the Mexican equivalent of the Wild Wild West so extortion is rampant. You can get any number of money making enterprises but some numbskull can come along and cause a depression, meaning that if you are over extended (ie no money on hand) you could soon be bereft of nearly everything you bought during the game. The best thing about the game is that it does not protect you. If the game moves to depression and you have no cash, you are toast, no government bail out for you. And if someone sends over some troops to extort you, your only answer is to find better troops, not to call the non-existent police. There's only one regime active at a time. Topple cards can come into play, and if someone plays a Topple card, then the players assess to see if someone has won the game. Turn over the active regime card, check to see what is needed to win (Loyalty, Outrage, Command or Revolution) and then check to see if any player has more than 2 of that attribute plus the least of the other players. So let's say that the regime is Pax Porifiriana, you have 3 Loyalty cards active, and no one else bothered to buy any. You buy and play a Topple card and poof! you won. Next time the same players play with you they will pay more attention, trust me. It can be a lot more complicated than that, but that's the gist of it. Every turn you are presented with a myriad of choices. Should you buy cards from the market? Should you give another player some unrest on her favorite enterprise? Should you move your troops into extort or maybe to protect what you have? Should you play an attribute card that matches the regime in order to either win or stop a win? Or should you buy a card that changes the regime and keep it in your hand? All of these choices are valid choices, I never saw a turn where I didn't have good choices to make. Which brings me to that issue that many of us hate: Analysis Paralysis. Just don't do it. It's a game folks. Sure take some time to try to asses the right thing to do, but trying to figure out all the possible results of any given play and remember what everyone has chosen will slow the game down so much that if I were at the table, I'd just pick up my IPad and start playing Carc. I've only played a two player like Tekopo, but the potential shines through anyway. Highly recommended if you like strategic thematic highly interactive games. Edit: Rulebook is a mess. Get "living rules" from here: http://boardgamegeek.com/file/download/n60lvbu84g/PaxPorfirianaLivingRules031213.pdf
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Apr 17, 2013 21:54
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And now some of my thoughts: Okay, in listing the actions in my last post, I might have shown that I was doing outrageous stuff and you might ask how you can do all the stuff I listed by playing a card game that comes in a tiny box: well, you just can. I don't know how, but the rules of the game really create a narrative of how your leader interacts with Mexico and your opponents in such a seamless way that I'm honestly surprised that a game such as this hasn't come out before. I mean, for most of the actions I listed I just played specific cards for the effect but it did feel exactly like what I should have been doing as an hacendados anyway. Targeting yourself to gain outrage/revolution etc should feel gamey, but instead it perfectly fits the sort of schemes and ploys that would have happened in revolutionary Mexico. I don't think I've quite played anything like this and the mix of strategic option, rules, strategy, degree of choice and thematic narrative is unprecedented for a game of this size and using only the medium of cards. It's deep, it's thematic, it can play quickly (although if you enter a depression the game can lost a long time and be, well, pretty depressing, although I think this fits the theme). I wasn't going to be able to play the game immediately again but I fell in love instantly. I've just ordered the game and I'm even half-way thinking of running a PBEM of it (although Dungeon Petz still needs to be finished). I really want others to experience this game.
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Apr 17, 2013 22:09
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I hate you. You're making me buy a new card game.  VVV: Innovation 
Pierzak fucked around with this message at 23:56 on Apr 17, 2013 |
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Apr 17, 2013 23:44
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I've followed the thread's advice for a while now, and you guys have never led me astray, so I figured I'd ask for opinions on Netrunner 1) How much like magic is it? I can see similarities to magic being off-putting for people 2) How good is it without expansions? 3) If it's not like magic, is it like dominion at all? 4) Is this the kind of game that you can have like 3 or four people rotating in and out of while spectating or will people get bored waiting to play? On a semi-unrelated note, do people have recommendations for 3 player games? I find myself short for CitOW and Space alert all the goddamn time, and boy is it frustrating.
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Apr 17, 2013 23:46
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MoreLikeTen posted:I've followed the thread's advice for a while now, and you guys have never led me astray, so I figured I'd ask for opinions on Netrunner It's not, it's fine, it's not and games are reasonably quick.
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Apr 17, 2013 23:47
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LuiCypher posted:Has Middle-Earth Quest been talked about, played, judged, etc.? Only played a couple of games thus far, but it seems OK. No clue as to whether it's balanced though. I'm pretty sure the PCs have won all the games we've run thus far, but they've been close.
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Apr 17, 2013 23:50
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Trastion posted:If anyone else has any other suggestions or comments I would appreciate them. Eclipse + Expansion is a no brainer. That game has deep depths and plays extremely elegantly. Plus it's an empire building 4x game that 4 people can play through in 2 to 3 hours.
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Apr 18, 2013 00:03
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quote:On a semi-unrelated note, do people have recommendations for 3 player games? I find myself short for CitOW and Space alert all the goddamn time, and boy is it frustrating. 3 players can really accentuate some problems in a game - but there's a few games that we prefer with 3: Castles of Burgundy, Sentinels of the Multiverse, Tigris & Euphrates, Dominion. I'm thinking Trajan will go in here too, but we just got it so I don't want to recommend it yet. Other stuff that we'd rather have more for, but are still likely to play at 3: Glen More, Among the Stars, Formula D, Libertalia, Lords of Waterdeep, Eclipse. Some of these feel quite different at 3, but they all work. Speaking of lists, we should do another chain of "My Current Top 5" or something. I'm curious what people are playing and enjoying.
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Apr 18, 2013 00:19
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quote:1) How much like magic is it? I can see similarities to magic being off-putting for people 1) It's not terribly like Magic to play: it's very two-player focused, and the two sides are very distinct. It is similar in that you build a deck of cards before the game, and designing that deck is for many people going to be a large part of the enjoyment of the game. If one person keeps all the cards, that'll cramp this and you're likely to divide into people who are interested in it and people who aren't - ideally, cards should be divided up between play (or multiple people should own cards) so that people can play around with deck building. 2) I don't think you need expansions, but having just the base set will, again, cramp the joys of deckbuilding. If you get into the game, you're likely going to want more cards. 3) It doesn't have much in common with Dominion. 4) The game is very 2 player focused (I think there is team based multiplayer modes, but I'm not sure how they work and I don't think they see much use). But the game is also very short, so if you have a group of people into it there's no reason you couldn't all have a fun session, or you could mix it in with other games. Long story short: it doesn't really play like Magic, but I think it fits into a group the same way Magic would (though, depending on the group, without the potential pressure to buy a bunch of cards to keep up - it's more balanced and has a different business model). We liked the games we played, but nobody in our group really got into it - and we eventually traded it away. jmzero fucked around with this message at 00:30 on Apr 18, 2013 |
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Apr 18, 2013 00:26
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GrandpaPants posted:I haven't played it myself, but for some reason I get the impression that Terra Mystica is a meatier Kingdom Builder. Am I wrong in this? Kingdom Builder and Terra Mystica have the following things in common: - you have a supply of houses - there is a hex grid - you place your houses on the hex grid So, yes, Terra Mystica is a meatier Kingdom Builder if Race For the Galaxy is a meatier Love Letter.
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Apr 18, 2013 00:46
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Tekopo posted:This game is absolutely incredible. 10/10. Would play again. I can't stress how good it is. I'm not a super huge fan of purely card-based games in general, but you've just sold me. And this game wasn't even close to being on my radar before these last two pages.
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Apr 18, 2013 00:47
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I keep thinking I should try to design a game for exactly three. The problem is that games for exactly N don't sell very well even when N = 2. An exactly-three-player game would be a big risk. But three players has almost as many unique and interesting properties as two. I could imagine a really cool card game in the vein of bridge, but where the winning bidder has some kind of advantage, yet has to take on the other two players by himself. Actually, I'd be surprised if such a game didn't exist already (if only as a variation on a four-player game). To answer the question, though, I second jmzero's recommendations of Dominion and Glen More. Urban Sprawl is arguably best with three; it's got a number of strong runaway leader mechanics, which even ganging up can't always overcome, so the two-on-one thing actually works in its favor relative to the two-player version (and four-player is very long and arguably too chaotic). Dungeon Lords and Dungeon Petz are really designed for four, but I've played both with 3 and although the adjustments which need to be made are a little inelegant, I didn't find that either game suffered much strategically from playing that way. Steam is also fine with three.
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Apr 18, 2013 00:49
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Indie Boards and Cards got the rights to publish Coup, which is awesome. But then they did this: http://boardgamegeek.com/image/1639532/coup Yikes.
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Apr 18, 2013 01:51
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Must be taking tips from FFG, everything is Android now and Dune was TI.
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Apr 18, 2013 01:53
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It's not hard to figure out, The Resistance is a known IP, so he's hitching as many wagons to it as he can.
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Apr 18, 2013 02:00
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Kiranamos posted:Indie Boards and Cards got the rights to publish Coup, which is awesome. But then they did this:
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Apr 18, 2013 02:00
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The Resistance is just a generic paint-by-number future dystopia. I can understand how they are attempting to leverage an IP but it still seems kind of a stretch.
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Apr 18, 2013 02:02
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real_scud posted:What the hell, why try to make it a Resistance game when the mechanics are completely different.
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Apr 18, 2013 02:11
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quote:The Resistance is just a generic paint-by-number future dystopia. It's also a legendary kingdom in ancient Britain. It does seem a bit strained. But I also understand it - it's effectively advertising the design team, and if they continue to make good games then I'll sign up for 183Resistance and Dungeon Resistance and whatever else they do. VV: Yeah yeah, funny - but also totally backed. I don't know if I'll use the promos (I wish they'd done all the Avalon core roles in sci-fi version) but they're still awesome. jmzero fucked around with this message at 03:11 on Apr 18, 2013 |
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Apr 18, 2013 02:12
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And the Coup Kickstarter is up: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2012515236/coup-bluff-and-deception-in-the-world-of-the-resis I like the Resistance promos to play Avalon. The dystopia theme goes over better with non-gamers.
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Apr 18, 2013 02:51
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Kiranamos posted:I like the Resistance promos to play Avalon. The dystopia theme goes over better with non-gamers. I find it's way easier to explain Avalon's theme. With the Resistance, it's like, "Okay, so you're an underground movement trying to commit terrorist acts against the government. But the government has planted spies within the group, and those spies want to sabotage our attempts to sabotage the government. Also the government is evil and oppressive." With Avalon, it's literally Team Good and Team Evil which goes over easier with less geeky people*. *I've played a great deal of The Resistance with total strangers in a variety of locations, including at Jury Duty during a 3-day selection and various college parties. I hope that clarifies what I mean by "less geeky people."
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Apr 18, 2013 02:56
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Kiranamos posted:And the Coup Kickstarter is up: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2012515236/coup-bluff-and-deception-in-the-world-of-the-resis
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Apr 18, 2013 03:04
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jmzero posted:It's also a legendary kingdom in ancient Britain. You could always suggest that they add more Avalon SF promos as stretch goals. Most of the Flashpoint Extreme Danger stretch goals were backer/community suggestions. On the subject of three player games, Arkham Horror's probably at its best with either three or four players. YMMV how "best" that is, of course.
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Apr 18, 2013 03:28
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real_scud posted:I make fun of it, but goddamned if I won't bite for $15 I really, really, really hate this new art (because I also hate the default Resistance setting). That said, Coup is an amazing game and everyone needs a copy of it. It's quickly become my new favorite game. Every group I've played it with has also loving love Coup. There are not enough good words to say about Coup. Coup coup coup. It's great. Buy it.
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Apr 18, 2013 03:33
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Is it just me or is there no rulebook posted on the coup kickstarter? Do I just take their word that I need to get this super cool game? They should have a rulebook since it's a second printing.
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Apr 18, 2013 04:06
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Lorini posted:Okey dokey, here goes.
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Apr 18, 2013 04:16
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It's not as complex as High Frontier. Otherwise I wouldn't play it.
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Apr 18, 2013 04:17
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Verdugo posted:Is it just me or is there no rulebook posted on the coup kickstarter? Do I just take their word that I need to get this super cool game? They should have a rulebook since it's a second printing. No rulebook posted yet, but the description on BoardGameGeek looks like it covers most of it.
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Apr 18, 2013 04:23
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InShaneee posted:No rulebook posted yet, but the description on BoardGameGeek looks like it covers most of it. Yeah, that's a really good overview. If people have specific questions, I'd be happy to fill in details. I'll shill for Coup all day long. Edit: Don't let the short description fool you. The game isn't simple. Or rather, it's a great game for easy to learn, hard to master. The actions are all very straightforward, and it's easy to keep all your options in headspace, but playing the game is all about reading the table, bluffing, and playing the odds.
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Apr 18, 2013 04:35
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I fuckin love sci fi and have totally backed this Coup kickstarter. re: explaining the theme of the Resistance, it's my favourite part. "It is the future and the world is ruled by an brutally oppressive dystopian regime. But there's hope! We are the resistance; if we succeed in our missions we will topple our evil overlords and build a peaceful socialist paradise that soon - through paranoia about the return of the former government and a hatred of the former elite civil servant class - will become a brutally oppressive dystopian regime."
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Apr 18, 2013 07:54
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PerniciousKnid posted:It sounds pretty complex. Is this going to be like High Frontier, where I buy it, it's my favorite board game, and I never get to play it again?
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Apr 18, 2013 08:08
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Hey Ausgoons where do you buy your boardgames from online? I've been shopping with both Games Paradise and Milsims recently but they've both irritated me recently - Games Paradise far, far more than Milsims. Are there any better alternatives out there or is this the best I'm going to get?
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Apr 18, 2013 11:18
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Glad I blindly ordered Pax Porifiriana, it sounds great. I love highly interactive card games and the "I never saw a turn where I didn't have good choices to make." line was right to my heart.
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Apr 18, 2013 11:18
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I hope you like cut-throat games because to say that Pax is vicious, cut-throat and adverserial is a serious understatement.
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Apr 18, 2013 11:22
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