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No video reviews can even remotely compete with UFBRT. He is one of the only people who actually uses the power of video/editing to actually illustrate how the game plays and why it's fun, quickly and clearly, instead of just showing you stuff in the box and seeing someone's talking head explain the game and move pieces around. Unfortunately he has been retired from reviews for quite a while.
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Jan 13, 2015 17:17
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Magnetic North posted:If I recall correctly, that was a common complaint when it came out. People said D&D4E was like WoW. Having played it now, I like it and I would disagree with that assessment, but not so severely that I would discount someone's opinion that it was unlike what D&D had been to them. At the same point, I accept that's kind of a nothing statement, basically the the reverse of "I like it so that's what matters." One of the main complaints about 4e was that social interactions were limited and rewards for said social interaction were non-existant. I still don't understand what everyone is complaining about when you have a person who roleplays God and can do anything he wants. Whether it helps or hinders is left to the personality of said player. Then again, maybe I didn't expect the rulebook to congratulate me for a successful speech check and give me a pittance of XP for not being anti-social. If only it were that easy in real life
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Jan 13, 2015 17:20
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Guys please don't derail into a 4E vs OSR debate as we already have threads for that. I'd even take another diatribe about how Battlecon is better than Yomi because it has a million characters over D&D edition wars.
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Jan 13, 2015 17:24
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What does Orleans play like? The two BGG reviews do not give a good sense of the game at all. Also is the earliest we can get Orleans in the USA really sept 2015 via the kick starter?
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Jan 13, 2015 17:29
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burger time posted:Is Theseus only good as a 2 player game? That's what the SU&SD review said. Is the 4p game as bad as people make it out to be? I haven't gotten a full complement of 4 yet, but I played it with 2 and 3 and I think I may have preferred it at 2. The issue with more players, I think, is that it means there are more chances of someone loving up your plans, whereas a 2 player game, you can at least plan your moves around them (ie, he'll never get into this spot, which lets me set up to go to this spot). With more people, there are more chances for someone to really need to get to a space that you just happen to be on. It makes it harder to plan ahead without actively conspiring against someone. There might also be an issue where it makes certain traps, and I'm thinking of mostly Fire, more powerful since more people will be activating it...by passing through. I didn't think it was a bad game at 3 at all, though, but I can see an argument for it being better with fewer. However, that may have been because we all spent about half the game not knowing what the hell any of us were doing or how to properly interact with each other. When that happened, we all got pretty good at not setting anyone else up for a big round, unless it meant a big round for ourselves. In the end, the space marine guy had the pretty simple task of activating Onslaughts since he didn't have to upgrade for them and got to like 12 points before the Greys or Scientists players got any Data Points. The Greys player eventually won through Mind Controlling people into an upgraded probe and upgrading all his dudes with what I assume are portable probes for more, uh, data analysis. And the Scientists watched on their camcorders, but never got the opportunity to download their fetish videos. This is an accurate thematic summary of a game of Theseus: The Dark Orbit. Edit: On the topic of reviews, I don't really care what their opinion is if I can see where it comes from (or if they straight up admit that it's purely irrational and based on nostalgia). Like a positive review of Cosmic Encounter that was like, "Yeah I played it with my dad in the 70s so I have all these memories attached to it" is worth more to me than "BEST GAME EVARRR" or "It's just fun." Unfortunately it seems like it is really hard to articulate why a game is good or not good without getting into the vagueness of gut instincts. But if I see some line of reasoning, I can at least understand where they're coming from and why they may think that way. It's easy to point to very specific design and mechanics problems, like Munchkin's never ending nature, but it's harder for me to articulate, for example, why I find a lot of deckbuilders, including Dominion, boring as hell, even if I can appreciate other aspects of their designs. It's even harder when a game is very, very dependent on the group you're with, like any of the social deduction games (I have had horrific games of The Resistance) that can very easily poison the well for those games until you find the right group of people. Luckily I think I've played enough games to know what sort of mechanics groove with me and what don't, so reading a rulebook is usually good enough to get a handle on a game and I don't have to spend time listening to some dude fumble through talking about a game. Except Rodney Smith, those videos own. GrandpaPants fucked around with this message at 17:41 on Jan 13, 2015 |
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Jan 13, 2015 17:32
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Any good board gaming podcasts out there?
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Jan 13, 2015 17:37
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Question for those who've played Viticulture: is there any maintenance cost for workers or anything like that? AKA if I have the 4 Lira every turn is there any reason not to keep hiring more workers?
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Jan 13, 2015 18:02
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Elysium posted:No video reviews can even remotely compete with UFBRT. He is one of the only people who actually uses the power of video/editing to actually illustrate how the game plays and why it's fun, quickly and clearly, instead of just showing you stuff in the box and seeing someone's talking head explain the game and move pieces around. Unfortunately he has been retired from reviews for quite a while. Never heard of this guy before. Seems already, but I already see this guy committed thread heresy.
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Jan 13, 2015 18:05
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goodness posted:Did any friendly goon happen to pick up an extra copy of Dominion at 15$ last night? I went to get one this morning online and it's all sold out. That deal didn't stay for long I think. Sold out almost immediately.
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Jan 13, 2015 18:10
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FISHMANPET posted:Question for those who've played Viticulture: is there any maintenance cost for workers or anything like that? AKA if I have the 4 Lira every turn is there any reason not to keep hiring more workers? I believe you're just limited by the number of worker meeples available, 6 total I also think for Tuscany games using the special workers - you're still limited to 6 total workers, even though you'd theoretically have 8 meeples available
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Jan 13, 2015 18:32
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Lichtenstein posted:There is. Space Alert. It's just that not everyone is best gamer ever. The best game ever is Blood Bowl. Everything else is just a distraction 
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Jan 13, 2015 18:40
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Megasabin posted:What does Orleans play like? The two BGG reviews do not give a good sense of the game at all. The KS site has a link directly to Radho Runs Through where he plays a game of it...
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Jan 13, 2015 18:43
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Funso Banjo posted:I think Quinns and Paul are still funny sometimes. Okay, Matt Lees is a man who made his name making mouth noises over E3 videos, and has three entire jokes. He should probably be stopped. But Brendan's a drat sharp writer when he has good material. His Dog Eat Dog review hit the loving bone, for example. (And okay, I really enjoyed The Unenviable Insomnia of Halloran Kin, and that colors my opinion, sue me.) His problem isn't a lack of talent. It's his complete lack of screen presence. He's clearly not an actor in any sense, but Paul and Quinns keep pointing a camera in his face. And he does about as well as most people do when you stick a camera in their face: Horribly. And I don't get the shade thrown at the other contributors. Matt Thrower is probably the best writer/reviewer on the site. Yeah, he pushed that one "haha insane wargoon" joke too long, but he's since dropped it, and he's a hell of a lot more evocative than Paul or Quinns. Pip is...I don't have a real opinion on Pip yet? She's really only done one solo review (Zooloretto), and that was fine, but she hasn't really established her own voice yet. And Leigh Alexander is Leigh Motherfucking Alexander. And I'm sure the goonmind hates her, because she's the sort of thing the goonmind hates--a pretentious essayist who mostly writes about her emotional relationship with pixels and cardboard. But as a counterpoint, gently caress you. gutterdaughter fucked around with this message at 19:36 on Jan 13, 2015 |
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Jan 13, 2015 19:18
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I do like cooking with Matt though. However, the best game meal is chili. People can just get up and refill a bowl while the others are taking their turns.
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Jan 13, 2015 19:23
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Bosushi! posted:I'd even take another diatribe about how Battlecon is better than Yomi because it has a million characters over D&D edition wars. Battlecon is better than Yomi.
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Jan 13, 2015 19:24
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FISHMANPET posted:Question for those who've played Viticulture: is there any maintenance cost for workers or anything like that? AKA if I have the 4 Lira every turn is there any reason not to keep hiring more workers? There is no maintenance cost. I've usually found it more useful to spend the money on building then for more workers, at least early game. Viticulture isn't really an aggressive or "head just above water" type of game. It's more relaxed and how to maximize your turns. Some people will like that, others won't.
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Jan 13, 2015 19:27
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Yeah, reading a bit more, maxing out your workers may not necessarily be the best option.
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Jan 13, 2015 19:31
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Clarification on the Orleans kick starter: the deluxe edition without the stretch goals includes money and wooden versions of the circle people in the game? Or is that the stretch goal with the citizens? I've never played the game before but the play through looks good. I'll probably wait to see it unlock all the stretch goals anyway but wanted to make sure.
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Jan 13, 2015 19:32
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Chill la Chill posted:Clarification on the Orleans kick starter: the deluxe edition without the stretch goals includes money and wooden versions of the circle people in the game? Or is that the stretch goal with the citizens? I've never played the game before but the play through looks good. I'll probably wait to see it unlock all the stretch goals anyway but wanted to make sure. Yah I believe it's referring to the discs replacing the standard cardboard chit workers. It sounds like the stretch goal upgrade adds meeples to replace the wooden cubes used to mark players place on some of the tracks. Megasabin posted:What does Orleans play like? The two BGG reviews do not give a good sense of the game at all. You can check out Rahdo's runthrough, but basically it's a worker placement/engine building game with a bag building(like a deck builder in a sense) aspect where you put all your workers in a bag and pull some out at random each turn. You perform actions by placing workers, but you need a combination of different workers to do things, so you might need a farmer and a knight and a scholar to perform a certain action, or a different set to do something else. Apparently there are a lot of different strategies to go for and you can do things like remove workers from your bag that you don't want any more and buy buildings that let you take new actions and focus on certain strategies. EBag fucked around with this message at 19:55 on Jan 13, 2015 |
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Jan 13, 2015 19:46
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Gutter Owl posted:And Leigh Alexander is Leigh Motherfucking Alexander. And I'm sure the goonmind hates her, because she's the sort of thing the goonmind hates--a pretentious essayist who mostly writes about her emotional relationship with pixels and cardboard. But as a counterpoint, gently caress you. Leigh Alexander owns hard, and that Netrunner essay she wrote applies so well to competitive settings in general, it's fantastic.
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Jan 13, 2015 19:51
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FISHMANPET posted:Question for those who've played Viticulture: is there any maintenance cost for workers or anything like that? AKA if I have the 4 Lira every turn is there any reason not to keep hiring more workers? I find that I can get a workable engine going at 4, and at 5 I don't need any more workers unless I absolutely need to, since hiring someone is one less action available to push out a wine order. You do stop at 6, since there aren't any more available to train. If you got Tuscany, it addresses the massive pile of money you will inevitably end up with at the end, but I've also played a few sessions where people have moved ahead really quickly to the point where spending an action to buy a worker will put me behind.
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Jan 13, 2015 20:25
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I enjoy the academic phenomenology that clearly influences Alexander's work, but I still disagree with practically every game opinion she has written for SUSD. I'm not familiar enough with her history to say more than that.
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Jan 13, 2015 20:43
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Toshimo posted:That's only because the Kickstarter for Homestuck Munchkin hasn't been fully funded yet. I first read this as Homestar Munchkin and was conflicted for a nanosecond.
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Jan 13, 2015 20:46
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Lord Frisk posted:Except he didn't do it when it came out, he did it last year. Good, 4th edition D&D is for whining babies that can't handle the concept of a game with asymmetrical roles. It doesn't feel like D&D fozzy fosbourne posted:Any good board gaming podcasts out there? Flip the Table is a great podcast where they review terrible games like NIghtmare VHS, and Power Rangers: the boardgame. It's pretty sweet: http://tableflipsyou.blogspot.ca/ Rutibex fucked around with this message at 21:05 on Jan 13, 2015 |
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Jan 13, 2015 21:02
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enigmahfc posted:Viticulture isn't really an aggressive or "head just above water" type of game. It's more relaxed and how to maximize your turns. Some people will like that, others won't. This is a super useful description that helped me understand what Viticulture is and isn't (beyond the genre) more than anything else. Thanks!
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Jan 13, 2015 21:06
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Almost all I'm ever looking for in board game reviews is a quick overview of how the game plays and how it's different from other games in the genera. I really like this guy's reviews just because they're so quick and to the point; I wish there were more reviews done in this style.
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Jan 13, 2015 21:16
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I don't really have a lot of confidence in any particular reviewer. They seem to focus on breadth rather than depth and I'm not sure if I genuinely trust a review written after a game or two. SU&SD started out good because I feel like they were reviewing games they had played the hell out of, like Space Alert, and as such their reviews kind of came off as a friend persuading you to play some game with them that they are crazy about. Lately, I've become curious if they are even that passionate about gamer's games now. Quinns has mentioned euro burnout, and he's clearly in the throes of a ~lifestyle game~ and we've all seen someone drop off the (nerdy entertainment) face of the earth when they become enthralled in one of those. Their written reviews are ok though, I prefer those. I'd really prefer if they just chatted, unrehearsed, about games similar to the Giantbomb crew. FWIW, the Escapist Tabletop podcast has a similar vibe and personalities, but they don't really discuss many good games. They got me interested in Shadowrun Crossfire though. It also helps that one dude sounds just like Jeff or Brad from giantbomb. Breadth-wide reviews would be better if they standardized on things like play time, similar games, setup time, effort to learn the rules, etc but they generally are just amorphous blobs of "Rules Overview -> disorganized brain dump on emotions that follow from playing game". Anyways, I still watch them but I get all of the useful discriminating opinions from:
rahdo is pretty good if I'm looking specifically for non-confrontational 2 player games  edit: Bgg forums/reviews require a high level of bullshit-sifting to get any use out of. Signal to noise is pretty bad, there are a lot of weird people who's favorite game in the world is some janky thing and they probably wear shirts made out of human hair fozzy fosbourne fucked around with this message at 21:41 on Jan 13, 2015 |
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Jan 13, 2015 21:35
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fozzy fosbourne posted:rahdo is pretty good if I'm looking specifically for non-confrontational 2 player games Eh, I think Rahdo is pretty good if you just ignore his final thoughts, since they a very specific and marked bias. I like his videos because all I really want is to see how the game plays. Even though he tends to mess up some rules, I find his videos give me a clear picture of what the game plays like, which is very lacking in SU&SD or Dice Tower or whatever. Then I can make up my own mind on whether the game is something I'd like to play. Watch it Played is good for this as well, but the pace is so much slower than Rahdo's. The production values are way higher, however, if that's your thing.
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Jan 13, 2015 22:09
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homullus posted:I first read this as Homestar Munchkin and was conflicted for a nanosecond. Give me Homestar Runner Lost Legacy. The Lost Legacy is the deed to Strongbadia or something.
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Jan 13, 2015 22:25
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Ojetor posted:Eh, I think Rahdo is pretty good if you just ignore his final thoughts, since they a very specific and marked bias. I like his videos because all I really want is to see how the game plays. Even though he tends to mess up some rules, I find his videos give me a clear picture of what the game plays like, which is very lacking in SU&SD or Dice Tower or whatever. Then I can make up my own mind on whether the game is something I'd like to play. Yeah, these two are who I go to once I've read the rules and want to see if I like it myself. But I don't really use rahdo's subjective opinions unless I'm specifically looking for his type of game
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Jan 13, 2015 22:36
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fozzy fosbourne posted:edit: Bgg forums/reviews require a high level of bullshit-sifting to get any use out of. Signal to noise is pretty bad, there are a lot of weird people who's favorite game in the world is some janky thing and they probably wear shirts made out of human hair Especially true if you go against the grain, so to speak. My only interaction with using those forums was to jump in and defend a friend of mine who posted some negative thoughts on Dead of Winter when it first came out. They were calling us liars, poor gamers, etc, basically jumping down our throats because we were simply presenting a few (of the many) valid criticisms of that game.
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Jan 13, 2015 22:40
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Orleans is available from Amazon.de from a French shipper who will ship internationally. It'll be pricey though, probably close to funagain.com's original $99 with shipping.
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Jan 13, 2015 23:07
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I am secretly hoping that SUSD gets back to its old release schedule of "Whenever we feel like sharing opinions on a game." Their semi-unstructured approach to reviews only work when they are actually passionate about whether a game is good or not. I am not really bothered by Matt Lees' videos, they are mostly just badly explained filler games, and the atrocious snacks he make always gives me a little smile. I don't think anybody really manages to hit the sweet spot, when it comes to actual and consistent reviews of board games. And I wish someone with a structured approach like Rodney from Watch It Played would take up the mantle and give it a go. At the moment I am trying to define what would actually constitute a good structure for reviews where mechanical and social aspects are addressed, who the game is aimed at and whether or not a game performs as intended, and how this can be done somewhat objectively. But there are a lot of things I'm uncertain about. What level of detail should reviews go into and what can be expected of readers/viewers? Should the perceived intentions of the designer be included? Is play theory relevant – or even interesting – to the average reader, or even useful in a review? What would you guys like to see in a review?
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Jan 13, 2015 23:10
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Played Catan using a deck of cards for the numbers instead of dice. I greatly preferred it. Mum didn't. I quote, "There's less risk, the less probable numbers are more certain to come up so they're just as good as the 6s and 8s." I tried to explain how probability works, but there's a reason my parents stopped asking what my maths homework was about when I was 10. She still won though.
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Jan 13, 2015 23:37
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Zveroboy posted:Played Catan using a deck of cards for the numbers instead of dice. I greatly preferred it. Probably because of her taking advantage of this skew by building on the 2s and 12s. Crafty lady. I haven't played Catan in ages, and I don't miss it. Although I'd probably want to use a deck like this if I did play it again.
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Jan 13, 2015 23:51
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Ojetor posted:Even though he tends to mess up some rules, I find his videos give me a clear picture of what the game plays like, which is very lacking in SU&SD or Dice Tower or whatever. I find the best show to get across actual gameplay is of all places Tabletop. Wil knows a thing or two about being concise with rules explanations and proper editing. The little graphics on the gameplay shots paint a pretty good picture of the game. It's unfortunate they don't show a lot of good games with any weight to them. A lot of board game reviewers/demos will go on for 2-3 hours of rambling and you still don't have a clear picture of how the game actually plays. They might go through the components, tell you lengthy card by card strategies, talk about their blog or another similar game for 30 min, etc. Tabletop gets to the point; I just wish instead of Star Trek Catan they would play Twilight Imperium 3 and edit it like a Survivor style endurance challenge  TravBot posted:Probably because of her taking advantage of this skew by building on the 2s and 12s. Crafty lady. Stop being cowards just roll some dice 
Rutibex fucked around with this message at 23:57 on Jan 13, 2015 |
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Jan 13, 2015 23:54
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Matt Lees' Takenoko review still angers me. I liked Leigh Alexander's Netrunner piece, and she wrote that article about gamers being giant man children that partially sparked gamergate which makes her cool in my books.
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Jan 13, 2015 23:55
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Bubble-T posted:Matt Lees' Takenoko review still angers me. "Takenoko isn't Cosmic Encounter, the best board game ever, and therefore is not worth anyone's time. There's no way someone would play this game and decide to try any other board game." I'm not exaggerating as much as you might think.
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Jan 13, 2015 23:58
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Rutibex posted:I find the best show to get across actual gameplay is of all places Tabletop. Wil knows a thing or two about being concise with rules explanations and proper editing. The little graphics on the gameplay shots paint a pretty good picture of the game. It's unfortunate they don't show a lot of good games with any weight to them. Their latest episode actually featured Stone Age, which was a heavier game than I expected they'd ever go for so I gave it a watch. They got rules wrong as usual but they actually caught it themselves and pointed it out. The guests were annoying Youtube people but the least obnoxious person won, which was nice. Even if they cranked the acting up to the max, it's still nice to show that playing a Euro doesn't mean 4 dudes staring silently at board while doing math.
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Jan 14, 2015 00:02
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quote:Especially true if you go against the grain, so to speak. My only interaction with using those forums was to jump in and defend a friend of mine who posted some negative thoughts on Dead of Winter when it first came out. I used to spend a little time there printing and playing games, and writing honest feedback. I often had more negative than positive things to say, because the "Game Designer Badge" squad is terrible at design, and usually the response I'd get would be: 1. "Well, thank you for your OPINION  ", from the author in the forum2. Four more people saying I don't get understand the subtle flavors of the game 3. Eight people, including the author, PM'ing me to ask why I'm such a jerk Now, if I'm tempted into posting there somehow, I usually just cut to the chase and straight-up aggro troll people.
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