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Tekopo posted:If you found Gric too dry (and are burnt out on Euros in general), don't buy Terra Mystica. I find Gric to be boring and dry, but I absolutely love Terra Mystica and will gladly play it as often as my group will allow.
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Jan 2, 2015 03:11
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| # ? May 14, 2024 17:04 |
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I have the best girlfriend ever. My birthday is New Year's Eve, and I never make a big deal about it. My various groups of friends always have their own plans set up, so each year I usually pick one group to hang out with, maybe get a cake, but it's mostly about celebrating the holiday. A few months ago, our gaming group that meets every Wednesday decided to do a New Year's Eve party, and unbeknownst to me, they decided to include a surprise birthday party for me. My gf got a bunch of my friends from our various groups to come out, organized a ton of great food, and decorated in a Galaxy Trucker themed way, complete with 4 tables set up for a mini-tournament. We had roughly 30 people show up and it was incredible amount of fun and I was really touched that people cared enough about little ole me to make it all happen. Also our friend who does cakes professionally donated one of the most amazing cakes I have ever seen (and tasted):   Vlaada would be impressed. Also I got the Galaxy Trucker Anniversary edition, which I am very excited to try out in the near future.
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Jan 2, 2015 03:39
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Big McHuge posted:... Happy Birthday! That Galaxy Trucker cake looks great. 
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Jan 2, 2015 03:48
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Big McHuge posted:I find Gric to be boring and dry, but I absolutely love Terra Mystica and will gladly play it as often as my group will allow. Same. I disliked gric, but I love Terra Mystica.
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Jan 2, 2015 04:04
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This is a great story. Happy birthday!
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Jan 2, 2015 04:07
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Had an awesome New Year's LAN/gaming party last night, and got through the main games I had been needing to learn/play (Dungeon Lords and Tragedy Looper). Dungeon Lords was slightly messy because it was really late so we kinda jumped in with my half-knowledge rather than study the rulebook. Had some rules misunderstandings that we discovered partway through (e.g. not paying monsters when hiring, only on payday), and certain turn orders were a bit messed up, but it fairly well for a first runthrough (despite one person nearly maxing out the scoreboard due to an abundance of great monsters). Tragedy looper was really fun. One of my friends also has it so he was able to act as mastermind, which made learning it pretty painless. Had a semi-house rule that you couldn't talk about the specific strategy/deduction except between loops, which definitely seems like the right idea. Downside was we horribly died on the first start scenario, partially due to a few communication issues (though the nail in the coffin was a rules misunderstanding). I think what makes sense for future games is to let players say "I'll take care of X" or "I'll make sure Y gets out of the shrine", but not "I'm playing a vertical movement". Really great game though, and it looks like my concerns about game length shouldn't be an issue, given the ability to pick shorter/longer scenarios. Also played some Dixit, which started out slow but became pretty great once people stopped giving one-word clues and just started having fun with ridiculous clues.
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Jan 2, 2015 04:53
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Thanks for the suggestions everyone! Some more questions if you'll oblige: 1) Anything to be aware of with the following games: Quantum Merchants and Marauders Libertalia Mage Wars 2) Which expansions are considered better for Race for the Galaxy? Arc 1 or Arc 2? I will probably play this mostly 2-3, maybe 4 As I mentioned, I already have Kemet on the way. I think I'll probably read the rule book and watch some playing of Archipelago and Terra Mystica. I might grab Legendary Encounters just because it sounds like the best out there of the cooperative not-Dominions and those are a safe bet. Going to read up on some of the further recommendations. Suburbia sounds interesting. I admittedly never gave Puzzle Strike a chance just because whenever it was being talked about anywhere it seemed to be more of a discussion/argument over the vocal designer's views. echoMateria posted:A Few Acres of Snow v2 << v2? Sorry, 2nd Edition. When I was playing games more actively, there was a huge amount of hype over this game but it died down when people figured out an unbeatable strategy for one side. I thought this edition would have resolved that somehow but it sounds like its still in there from what I've read on BGG. Apparently the game is great if you don't know the strategy but I imagine it's frustrating to never be able to "un-see" it
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Jan 2, 2015 05:52
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fozzy fosbourne posted:Sorry, 2nd Edition. When I was playing games more actively, there was a huge amount of hype over this game but it died down when people figured out an unbeatable strategy for one side. I thought this edition would have resolved that somehow but it sounds like its still in there from what I've read on BGG. Apparently the game is great if you don't know the strategy but I imagine it's frustrating to never be able to "un-see" it A major problem is that the unbeatable strategy is trivial to discover if you have any experience with deckbuilding games whatsoever, to the point where it was obvious to people in this thread during their first play.
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Jan 2, 2015 05:55
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fozzy fosbourne posted:2) Which expansions are considered better for Race for the Galaxy? Arc 1 or Arc 2? I will probably play this mostly 2-3, maybe 4 I like Arc 2 the most (I've played ~100 games of that, ~30 games of Gathering Storm, a bunch more on the Keldon AI program for other Arc 1 expansions). It adds more and better balanced cards than the first expansion of Arc 1, without becoming bloated in the way the game does as you add more expansions from Arc 1. In terms of pacing and card strength it feels only slightly stronger than the base game - if you'd like some serious power creep and combo play then go hog wild with all of Arc 1, the cards and synergy get pretty crazy by the third expansion. Having said that, half of the box is taken up by the new Orb module which is hit-or-miss depending on the person you ask. I actually quite like it, but it is at an odd tangent to the core gameplay (it feels something like playing Carcassone and RftG at the same time). I personally would still recommend Alien Artifacts as the best expansion just on the strength of the cards included, you don't actually have to use the Orb if you don't want to.
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Jan 2, 2015 06:30
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well I just got a party group to throw down CAH and play Avalon for hours so that's a success, everyone said it was the best party game they had ever played
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Jan 2, 2015 07:05
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T-Bone posted:well I just got a party group to throw down CAH and play Avalon for hours so that's a success, everyone said it was the best party game they had ever played Was part of said group and can confirm it's the best party game I've ever played. It sounds nerdy since it's merlin and king arthur and poo poo but it's actually a super basic easy to learn game involving intrigue.
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Jan 2, 2015 07:24
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Just played six hours straight of 7 Wonders with two friends. Good holiday.
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Jan 2, 2015 07:27
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Full day of gaming today, with Le Havre, Space Alert, Timeline Inventions, Roads and Boats, and Splendor. A good day.
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Jan 2, 2015 08:25
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I played a bit of Tash Kalar on Boardgame Arena because I was too hungover to do anything else. Solid start for the new year.
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Jan 2, 2015 08:41
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fozzy fosbourne posted:1) Anything to be aware of with the following games: I like Mage Wars, but it is a really daunting game. Imagine if you were playing Magic (or whatever other CCG) and instead of being limited to what was in your hand, you have your entire DECK to choose from. And like any other customizable game, you don't have to just be aware of what is in your deck, but in your opponent's as well. This may be okay with veterans who know the game really well, but for a newbie who is just using one of your decks to try it out, this is information overload. Again, it's a good game, but it is super hard to get into.
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Jan 2, 2015 09:09
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Is the 7 Wonders play mat worth buying? I get that its not super necessary, but the art on it is nice, and I'm wondering if ease-of-table-organization is gonna be enough of an issue to warrant a special mat.
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Jan 2, 2015 09:35
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Anyone have any opinion of the Feast for Crows 4-player expansion for the GoT Board Game? It's said to balance out the lower player count and speed the game up a bit, so I'm just curious what the actual opinions of it are.
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Jan 2, 2015 11:04
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jivjov posted:Is the 7 Wonders play mat worth buying? I get that its not super necessary, but the art on it is nice, and I'm wondering if ease-of-table-organization is gonna be enough of an issue to warrant a special mat. What the hell would you even put on it? 7 Wonders is three stacks of cards and two piles of chips. It'd take longer to set it up than to play.
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Jan 2, 2015 11:11
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You'd need to buy 7 of them to make the game consistent
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Jan 2, 2015 13:17
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fozzy fosbourne posted:1) Anything to be aware of with the following games: Ignore the second half of the title of the game; if you do anything remotely marauder-like, you'll enjoy a short-term gain, but you'll eventually be chased down by an enormous Navy ship that will promptly murder you. Actually, just don't play that game; it's long and boring. Everything important depends on how lucky your dice are. It's... like Arkham Horror, except not co-op.
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Jan 2, 2015 15:41
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Lhet posted:... That is not a house rule but listed on the rules as one of the two choices to run the game that players decide ahead of the game. Basically it is very hard for the Mastermind to win if players spend 15 minutes to discuss what to do every day and pick what card each one places. It also makes the game last ten times longer than the alternative. So it is recommended to play the game with "table talk" until players manage to win and then switch to "table talk off" which just means no strategy talk during loops (not even your "I'll take care of X" or "I'll make sure Y gets out of the shrine"). Which really is the ideal form of the game because it gets really, really long and quarterback-y otherwise. Last weekend we played the very first tragedy; Players kept making mistakes that would let me win by placing cards that would play into my plans, but since they talked and talked about it, someone eventually made a suggestion to play another card there to guarantee things and they ended up playing so safe that I wasn't able to counter them by playing according to the suggestions on the book. (Which makes it easy for them by playing a little too obviously) Broken Loose posted:A major problem is that the unbeatable strategy is trivial to discover if you have any experience with deckbuilding games whatsoever, to the point where it was obvious to people in this thread during their first play. Didn't the "unbeatable strategy" consist entirely of something as basic to deck builders as trashing cards? I remember some discussion about it, but not the details. echoMateria fucked around with this message at 16:24 on Jan 2, 2015 |
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Jan 2, 2015 16:20
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echoMateria posted:Didn't the "unbeatable strategy" consist entirely of something as basic to deck builders as trashing cards? I remember some discussion about it, but not the details.
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Jan 2, 2015 16:23
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Well you guys are really making me want Keyflower. I assume no reprint is planned, and I'd have to shell out around 80 to get my hands on it?
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Jan 2, 2015 17:03
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I've found its never worth it to pay those stupid aftermarket prices. Keyflower is a popular game, it will be reprinted in the next year or two. Practice the art of patience.
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Jan 2, 2015 17:07
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Lord Frisk posted:I've found its never worth it to pay those stupid aftermarket prices. Keyflower is a popular game, it will be reprinted in the next year or two. Practice the art of patience. You aren't very familiar with how Richard Breese publishes his games, then. I think Keyflower actually got a second print run, which got me hoping he'd see that maybe he could sell a few more copies of certain games at $50 when the market was bearing $300, but apparently not.
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Jan 2, 2015 17:14
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Megasabin posted:Well you guys are really making me want Keyflower. I assume no reprint is planned, and I'd have to shell out around 80 to get my hands on it? It's reprinting. He won't reprint those old games. There are :reasons: All I can say is that I seriously doubt that it's going to happen. Also this is not his full time job. Mayveena fucked around with this message at 17:19 on Jan 2, 2015 |
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Jan 2, 2015 17:16
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I was at a friends house last night and we played a TTR game that lasted 3+ hours. I've only played it once before, is that a normal length of time to play?
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Jan 2, 2015 18:57
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No, it's not. Your friends took waaaaaay too long to decide between three options.
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Jan 2, 2015 18:59
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We were playing with the max number of people and took frequent food breaks so I suspect it had something to do with being unfocused. I would blame everybody doing their best old timey railway tycoon voice for slowing us down but that part was too fun not to do. I enjoyed the game but not the amount if time we took. Actually how long do Avalon games run in your experience? Ours usually go for an hour since everybody becomes so engaged in discussion that there is oo much to talk about.
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Jan 2, 2015 19:05
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Avalon games tend to run from 40 min to an hour, though this is not all play time. Your group may just take their time with stuff. As long as it's enjoyable. I, however, bought a 1 minute sand timer because if I let them, my friends would debate options all night.
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Jan 2, 2015 19:21
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The TTR stuff was irritating because there wasn't a great reason for it take long and I was getting bored of the game as a result. Avalon is ok being long because no matter how long it is, it's filled with intense debate.
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Jan 2, 2015 19:26
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Lord Frisk posted:You'd need to buy 7 of them to make the game consistent Its a center-table mat, where the decks and token supply hang out, not playmats for individual players. Jedit posted:What the hell would you even put on it? 7 Wonders is three stacks of cards and two piles of chips. It'd take longer to set it up than to play. Fair enough.
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Jan 2, 2015 19:29
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Mega64 posted:Anyone else have a chance to try this? I'm now tempted as hell to grab it despite knowing I'll only get to play it like once every six months or so at best. Also, the part count of Rosenberg games pales compared to Roads and Boats. James The 1st fucked around with this message at 19:47 on Jan 2, 2015 |
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Jan 2, 2015 19:44
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GrandpaPants posted:I like Mage Wars, but it is a really daunting game. Imagine if you were playing Magic (or whatever other CCG) and instead of being limited to what was in your hand, you have your entire DECK to choose from. And like any other customizable game, you don't have to just be aware of what is in your deck, but in your opponent's as well. This may be okay with veterans who know the game really well, but for a newbie who is just using one of your decks to try it out, this is information overload. Mage Wars really isnt much like Magic at all. Its sold as the thinking mans Magic but I would say it iis a lot closer to D&D vancian casting. Mage Wars lets you build two 3.5 D&D casters and fight them in a controlled environment that doesnt need a DM. I just wish I could convince someone to play it with me.  You think finding Netrunner opponents is hard? Try Mage Wars for some real solitude. Its a fantasitc game but dont buy it unless you have someone in mind to play it with. I couldnt even get people who play Agricola on a regular basis to try it because of how much upfront time investment it takes.
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Jan 2, 2015 19:50
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jivjov posted:Fair enough. I think you answered your own question when you first asked it. jivjov posted:Is the 7 Wonders play mat worth buying? I get that its not It's an accessory that has next to no functional value but may have nice ascetic value. If you're fine paying for something purely to enhance your game visually then knock yourself out. If you only want accessory that have functional application then you should pass.
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Jan 2, 2015 19:52
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Rutibex posted:Mage Wars really isnt much like Magic at all. Its sold as the thinking mans Magic but I would say it iis a lot closer to D&D vancian casting. Mage Wars lets you build two 3.5 D&D casters and fight them in a controlled environment that doesnt need a DM. I wasn't comparing it to Magic mechanically, but as a metaphor for how daunting having ALL the options can be. If anything, I'd compare it to a more complex Summoner Wars or something.
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Jan 2, 2015 20:34
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MildManeredManikin posted:We were playing with the max number of people and took frequent food breaks so I suspect it had something to do with being unfocused. I would blame everybody doing their best old timey railway tycoon voice for slowing us down but that part was too fun not to do. I enjoyed the game but not the amount if time we took. TTR seriously shouldn't take more than an hour at most. We used to play it as a quick filler game (with five people) while waiting for food to show up. It's actually hard for me to imagine what would even take three hours. Did people have a lot of problems with the rules or were people just taking forever to get through their turns?
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Jan 2, 2015 20:45
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I've got King of New York on its way. It looks like a good palate cleanser for my group between heavier games, with relatively quick setup. I also grabbed the Paint the Town Red expansion for Marvel Legendary because we've been trending on that game, lately.
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Jan 2, 2015 20:56
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Paradoxish posted:TTR seriously shouldn't take more than an hour at most. We used to play it as a quick filler game (with five people) while waiting for food to show up. It's actually hard for me to imagine what would even take three hours. Did people have a lot of problems with the rules or were people just taking forever to get through their turns? MildManeredManikin posted:... playing with the max number of people and took frequent food breaks .. I suspect this is more the root cause than anything. I know it might make me sound a little like a dick, but I sort of hate when people feel the need to stop and have food breaks during games that aren't really that long. Put a bowl of chips or vegetables within reach before starting the game, fercryinoutloud. I mean, if it's a game of Twilight Imperium, I get it. Otherwise, don;t make a game that should be 45 minutes take 3 hours.
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Jan 2, 2015 21:07
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So given how almost pointless the board is in Temporum, this is how I'll be traveling with it this weekend: That's a Timeline box measuring a few inches by a few inches. Just putting the cards on the table negates most of the need for the board, and if the cards aren't enough to delineate the zone space for the crowns we can use a piece of paper or something. Funnily, Timeline is quite an appropriate box... p.s. this is how I roll with the entire contents of the Carcassonne Big Box (minus the scoring board and instructions): 
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Jan 2, 2015 22:47
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