|
Mortley posted:I'm pretty much a newbie to board gaming - the only game I'm super familiar with is Carcassonne. I'd like to branch out, but I'm afraid of dropping $40++ on games that I might never figure out properly. I've done Brett Spiel Welt and boardgamearena.com has been recommended to me, but I dunno how to go from a PDF of the physical-copy rules to playing online against someone. I'm specifically interested in Tash-Kalar. I guess my question is, is there a trick to this? I'm not entirely sure what you're asking, but BGA has 2-player Tash-Kalar.
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2015 00:16
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 15, 2024 10:40 |
|
|
Board Game Arena literally has Tash-Kalar built in to the website. Just sign up and open up a game table. It's got good functionality to it.
|
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2015 00:17
|
|
|
fozzy fosbourne posted:
I thought his videos for Viticulture and Tuscany were amazing, I just watched it and played, without barely cracking the rulebook. I tried to get my wife to watch because I'm a horrible teacher, but (and I agree with her on this) he just seems too happy. It's just... weird? Teaching rules just seems like the most thankless role in all of board game video making, and he's just so drat excited to do it!
|
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2015 00:17
|
|
|
Bubble-T posted:I've read a million board game review sites and bgg blogs and this forum is by far the most useful source for actual reviews of games, largely because there's a bunch of people commenting and we're not afraid to poo poo on a game. Seriously this. I'm done with the SU&SD comments section, after basically being called an internet monster for criticizing Vasel. I guess I'm too "negative" for those boards, which I didn't realize had basically become tumblr. I trust a lot of the opinions on here, and I feel that I can give honest critiques and impressions of games without having to pull punches.
|
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2015 00:23
|
|
|
Mortley posted:I'm pretty much a newbie to board gaming - the only game I'm super familiar with is Carcassonne. I'd like to branch out, but I'm afraid of dropping $40++ on games that I might never figure out properly. I've done Brett Spiel Welt and boardgamearena.com has been recommended to me, but I dunno how to go from a PDF of the physical-copy rules to playing online against someone. I'm specifically interested in Tash-Kalar. I guess my question is, is there a trick to this? If you're asking how you play a game for the first time without looking like an idiot, you don't. Just suck it up and have fun.
|
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2015 00:25
|
|
|
Impermanent posted:Board Game Arena literally has Tash-Kalar built in to the website. Just sign up and open up a game table. It's got good functionality to it. I guess it just seemed like I wouldn't know what to do after opening a game table. I suppose I can just hope I get someone patient and click around a lot. fake edit ^^: ah OK I'll just try it out then 
|
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2015 00:27
|
|
|
admanb posted:If you're asking how you play a game for the first time without looking like an idiot, you don't. Just suck it up and have fun. The caveat to this is DO read the rules and do everything you can to prepare if hosting a game for people who haven't played before either. We all have a horror story of showing up for a new game nobody has played and the host just whips out the manual and starts reading it for the first time right then and there. Don't be that guy because that guy loving sucks. But yeah for online version of a game just jump on in.
|
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2015 00:28
|
|
|
FISHMANPET posted:I thought his videos for Viticulture and Tuscany were amazing, I just watched it and played, without barely cracking the rulebook. I love teaching board games, but then I love teaching poo poo in general. Teaching a game well enough that people get right in to it and want to play again is super rewarding IMO.
|
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2015 00:32
|
|
|
Megaman's Jockstrap posted:Interestingly enough, I had a friend who was an absolute blast to play BSG with who was a petulant, horrible baby when we played Archipelago. Some people really do read the "everybody wins, use VP to determine the Grand Winner" as "everyone, in fact, loses - except for the Grand Winner" I remember reading a FAQ for Defenders of the Realm - which is a pure co-op game where there is a similar and optional way to decide an "MVP". Anyway the designer was addressing something similar; players would sink the game at the end if the only other option was to win but they wouldn't be the MVP. It was common enough apparently to address in a FAQ. The idea boggled my mind. I mean sure I can see some awful person pulling something like that now that I have heard about it, but god drat. The Eyes Have It fucked around with this message at 00:35 on Feb 4, 2015 |
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2015 00:32
|
|
|
Bubble-T posted:I love teaching board games, but then I love teaching poo poo in general. Teaching a game well enough that people get right in to it and want to play again is super rewarding IMO.    I actually rehearse rules explanations for my friends and now suddenly I can play Mage Knight with non-gaming types. Speaking of this thread's recommendations, thanks Lorini for talking about Vinhos earlier. That's going to be my first 600lb. euro. Impermanent fucked around with this message at 00:36 on Feb 4, 2015 |
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2015 00:32
|
|
|
Board Game Thread 4e: Actually, it's about ethics in board gaming journalism.
|
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2015 00:40
|
|
|
In Archipelago's case you really are supposed to threaten the leader with sinking the game or force them to pay all the crisis poo poo etc.. that's the game's catchup mechanism.
|
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2015 00:43
|
|
|
Big McHuge posted:Seriously this. I'm done with the SU&SD comments section, after basically being called an internet monster for criticizing Vasel. I guess I'm too "negative" for those boards, which I didn't realize had basically become tumblr. Considering my long carepost on how 'money =/= relevance', you're in good company. What I like about this forum is that there are enough people on here who aren't taken in by hype when they review a game - Goons here called Dead of Winter a positively 'meh' game well before any other site started to realize it. Most sites were taken in by the Gen Con hype for the game, and having seen the Gen Con hype for the game in person it's easy to see why. People waiting forever = the game has to be good! One great thing did come out of the long lines for demos as a result of the Gen Con hype for DoW though - it helped me discover the superior Tragedy Looper after I got sick of waiting and saw an open demo table for it!
|
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2015 00:45
|
|
|
Bubble-T posted:In Archipelago's case you really are supposed to threaten the leader with sinking the game or force them to pay all the crisis poo poo etc.. that's the game's catchup mechanism. Along with this, I think the rules/whoever's teaching needs to emphasize the need to actually negotiate and trade between players since selling to the market is a pretty inefficient way of getting money, especially if you are going to use that money on something else in the market. 3 actions to get like 1 Wood is not a good use of your time, especially since you might as well Explore or possibly just take over someone else's wood area with a surprise Town. Capitalism, bitches. Also, someone getting the Slavery card is pretty much grabbing a time bomb since anyone can use it and it generates 2 unrest every time it's used. That poo poo adds up. Archipelago owns and I wish I could play it more often. Thinking about it, "wish I could play it more often" seems to really apply to Christopher Boelinge's games (Dungeon Twister, Earth Reborn, Archipelago). LuiCypher posted:Goons here called Dead of Winter a positively 'meh' game well before any other site started to realize it. "Meh" is being pretty generous. I think there was all of one or maybe two positive reviews of the game at first, then other people got to play it and welp. But hey, they recently announced an expansion, so there'll be even MORE tepid experiences to be had!
|
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2015 00:52
|
|
|
FISHMANPET posted:I thought his videos for Viticulture and Tuscany were amazing, I just watched it and played, without barely cracking the rulebook. Rodney is doing something he really enjoys with his family, and getting paid for it. I'd be happy too.
|
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2015 00:52
|
|
|
Bubble-T posted:In Archipelago's case you really are supposed to threaten the leader with sinking the game or force them to pay all the crisis poo poo etc.. that's the game's catchup mechanism.
|
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2015 00:57
|
|
|
Bubble-T posted:In Archipelago's case you really are supposed to threaten the leader with sinking the game or force them to pay all the crisis poo poo etc.. that's the game's catchup mechanism. Well that's the line on BGG but I don't necessarily agree with it. The thing I like about Archipelago is that nearly every single player gets to the "I won't help out with Balance events at all, and that will give me the edge I need" phase and starts trying to bow out of Balance events. But of course if everyone thinks like that the game will almost certainly end in a fail state. If 3 players decide to piss on the leader's head, they've essentially robbed that player of any real chance of winning the MVP anyway and so it's in his/her best interest to not cooperate fully and risk crashing the game. And this is what's interesting. You have to hurt the leader, but not too badly. You want to contribute, but not too much. And ultimately sometimes it really is in your best interest with some players to say "let's end the game then, your strategy is essentially either complete capitulation or mutually assured destruction and you can gently caress right off with that" and be willing to go the distance. In fact there's a pretty good thread about this on BGG (right here: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/1295042/watching-archipelago-burn-does-make-me-jerk) where the two lead players try to bully another player into paying off the Balance event with no compensation and he crashes the game (correctly, I feel). So it's super important to thread that needle - to force the leader(s) to pay a bit more but not completely hobble them. The open negotiation around Balance events is actually one of my favorite parts of the game.
|
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2015 01:01
|
|
|
GrandpaPants posted:"Meh" is being pretty generous. I think there was all of one or maybe two positive reviews of the game at first, then other people got to play it and welp. But hey, they recently announced an expansion, so there'll be even MORE tepid experiences to be had! I love how the info that's been given about the expansion is "There are more cards! Also a new mechanic!" To be fair, it's stuff that was gleaned from a podcast. It still barely seems worth mentioning right now.
|
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2015 01:04
|
|
|
Megaman's Jockstrap posted:Well that's the line on BGG but I don't necessarily agree with it. The thing I like about Archipelago is that nearly every single player gets to the "I won't help out with Balance events at all, and that will give me the edge I need" phase and starts trying to bow out of Balance events. But of course if everyone thinks like that the game will almost certainly end in a fail state. If 3 players decide to piss on the leader's head, they've essentially robbed that player of any real chance of winning the MVP anyway and so it's in his/her best interest to not cooperate fully and risk crashing the game. Archipelago is pretty much Tragedy of the Commons: The Boardgame, and it's just as fascinating to watch how others act as it is to experience as part of the game.
|
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2015 01:11
|
|
|
GrandpaPants posted:Archipelago is pretty much Tragedy of the Commons: The Boardgame, and it's just as fascinating to watch how others act as it is to experience as part of the game. Thanks for putting it that way, I'ma steal that. It's one of my favorite games, and that's one of the reasons.
|
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2015 01:13
|
|
|
Buckwheat Sings posted:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyd51lvu3xw From reddit: quote:Quick "Behind the Scenes" moment...it was between Mage Knight and Cosmic Encounter for the board game, but Dez decided on Mage Knight for some reason....probably because too many of us on set would have pushed the kids to the side and actually started playing Cosmic Encounter haha. wrap it up, cosmic haters
|
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2015 01:50
|
|
|
Bubble-T posted:From reddit: 
|
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2015 01:54
|
|
|
Jedit posted:Rodney is doing something he really enjoys with his family, and getting paid for it. I'd be happy too.
|
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2015 02:18
|
|
|
Regarding the brief Carcassonne expansion discussion a few pages back, are there any thoughts on the Count, King & Robber expansion? I'm considering picking up that with the Big Box 5 (2014). The longest road and largest city bonuses sound interesting as they seem to discourage people from taking quick point grabs throughout the game. Plus it throws in a bit of Catan flair with longest road and I know how much everyone loves that. Mortley posted:I'm pretty much a newbie to board gaming - the only game I'm super familiar with is Carcassonne. I'd like to branch out, but I'm afraid of dropping $40++ on games that I might never figure out properly. I've done Brett Spiel Welt and boardgamearena.com has been recommended to me, but I dunno how to go from a PDF of the physical-copy rules to playing online against someone. I'm specifically interested in Tash-Kalar. I guess my question is, is there a trick to this? I usually watch playthroughs on YouTube before I decide on a new game unless I'm already fairly convinced that I'll enjoy it. If I can watch Rahdo play a game for an hour or more without turning it off then it's probably safe to assume that I'll enjoy it. If I can't even get through the rules explanation then I'll move along.
|
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2015 04:18
|
|
|
I played X-Com over the weekend and dear sweet Jesus it's good. Kind of like if Space Alert was also Pandemic.
|
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2015 04:43
|
|
|
SolitarySolidarity posted:Regarding the brief Carcassonne expansion discussion a few pages back, are there any thoughts on the Count, King & Robber expansion? I'm considering picking up that with the Big Box 5 (2014). The longest road and largest city bonuses sound interesting as they seem to discourage people from taking quick point grabs throughout the game. Plus it throws in a bit of Catan flair with longest road and I know how much everyone loves that. I played King and Scout on the Xbox 360 version, and it was a perfectly fine addition to the game. Nothing revelatory, though. Can't speak to the other parts, though.
|
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2015 05:01
|
|
|
Froghammer posted:I played X-Com over the weekend and dear sweet Jesus it's good. Kind of like if Space Alert was also Pandemic. I was pretty excited about it when it was announced, but after seeing the Watch it Played videos on it, I toned down my excitement for it. I think the real-time portion looks good and panic inducing, but after seeing how the resolution phase works, I feel like it could ultimately turn into a push your luck dice-fest. I suppose with enough techs, or whatever they're called, from the scientist, things could stay interesting, but I can't tell. How active/engaging were all the roles throughout the game? On paper, it looks to me like the scientist's role is most interesting at the start, while the Commander and Squad leader get more interesting as the game goes on.
|
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2015 05:07
|
|
|
PerniciousKnid posted:How do people even do this? I wish there was a class I could take, maybe at a con. At least they aren't pure mouth breathers either though.
|
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2015 05:34
|
|
|
Megaman's Jockstrap posted:Well that's the line on BGG but I don't necessarily agree with it. The thing I like about Archipelago is that nearly every single player gets to the "I won't help out with Balance events at all, and that will give me the edge I need" phase and starts trying to bow out of Balance events. But of course if everyone thinks like that the game will almost certainly end in a fail state. If 3 players decide to piss on the leader's head, they've essentially robbed that player of any real chance of winning the MVP anyway and so it's in his/her best interest to not cooperate fully and risk crashing the game. The group I play with is exceptionally good at negotiation and "playing" the game. Chinatown was a blast recently after I snabbed a copy off eBay. It was the first time a personal issue came up between my partner and I, which I think was a result of the negotiations being TOO open in terms of beg, borrowing, and stealing tactics. But I think Archipelago might be the perfect mix of all these things to create an awesome experience in my grad student gaming group. You're not helping in my wanting to play, but I fear the rules will be such a clunky mess to teach that it will dissuade them. If they've played BSG, Resistance, Chinatown, and a few other lighter games, how much of a hurdle do you think the fiddly pieces and mechanics will hold progress back?
|
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2015 05:51
|
|
|
unpronounceable posted:I was pretty excited about it when it was announced, but after seeing the Watch it Played videos on it, I toned down my excitement for it. I think the real-time portion looks good and panic inducing, but after seeing how the resolution phase works, I feel like it could ultimately turn into a push your luck dice-fest. I suppose with enough techs, or whatever they're called, from the scientist, things could stay interesting, but I can't tell. From what I've played so far, this is the point of the game. The resolution phase is at it's heart a push your luck dicefest, the point of most of the player interaction in the real time phase is getting your money out to mitigate as much of the push your luck element as possible, either by adding more dice, reducing/removing the consequences for failure or in some cases straight up skipping the dice all together.
|
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2015 11:12
|
|
|
SolitarySolidarity posted:Regarding the brief Carcassonne expansion discussion a few pages back, are there any thoughts on the Count, King & Robber expansion? I'm considering picking up that with the Big Box 5 (2014). The longest road and largest city bonuses sound interesting as they seem to discourage people from taking quick point grabs throughout the game. Plus it throws in a bit of Catan flair with longest road and I know how much everyone loves that. The Count itself can be a bit confusing and annoying (albeit the replacement starting tiles are pretty cool), but King & Robbers is a fine addition. Note that the King and Robber become more powerful the more expansions you include (because more tiles = more roads and cities) so it's usually best to only use them with a couple of expansions. The box also includes River 2 and the 'Cult' part of the old Cult, Siege and Creativity mini expansion. River 2 is nice for a change and has tiles designed for use with the Princess and Dragon, though I never found Cults to be relevant beyond 'extra cloisters'. Overall it looks like a pretty decent box to get.
|
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2015 11:17
|
|
|
I've resigned myself to the idea that I'll never play Yomi with real people. Is the web version a good way to play it, or is it more of a trial version?
|
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2015 11:37
|
|
|
Looking some goon opinions on Ancient Terrible Things: a solid game that stands on its own or a bad attempt at hopping on the King of Tokyo yahtzee re-design train?
|
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2015 15:24
|
|
|
These Loving Eyes posted:Looking some goon opinions on Ancient Terrible Things: a solid game that stands on its own or a bad attempt at hopping on the King of Tokyo yahtzee re-design train? I wrote some words about it in this post. Short version: good rulebook, easy to play, not too long. Solid artwork with a consistent design and theme. Not the deepest game but it has hit the table plenty because it's rewarding enough to play and good value for that playtime because it's (again) easy to play and not too long. I recently played King of Tokyo for the first time and it didn't make me think of Ancient Terrible Things at all, but ymmv.
|
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2015 17:49
|
|
|
Fat Samurai posted:I've resigned myself to the idea that I'll never play Yomi with real people. Is the web version a good way to play it, or is it more of a trial version? It's good. Lots of tournaments get run there, it even can save replays of games and stuff.
|
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2015 18:36
|
|
|
Played Viticulture and Il Siesto Senso last night. Viticulture I really enjoyed, and I'm looking forward to adding the expansions. It played quickly (with 3, on a first game) and had some good choices, interesting interactions, seemed fairly balanced (albeit the Visitor cards seem a bit iffy in balance in places). It adds to a good stable of WP games I enjoy. Overall, I think I'd probably prefer this to Caverna. Il Siesto Senso/The Sixth Sense was sort of a cross between Dixit and Clue(do) - I had fun with it, but it seemed a little limited with 3, and like it would be both more challenging and more fun with more. But it didn't seem very crunchy, so I probably wouldn't wind up playing it on a normal game night.
|
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2015 18:37
|
|
|
Fat Samurai posted:I've resigned myself to the idea that I'll never play Yomi with real people. Is the web version a good way to play it, or is it more of a trial version? The web version is fully-featured, there's nothing "trial" about it. The interface is really good too, it does poo poo like auto-sort your hand (which wouldn't ever work against an irl opponent for obvious reasons), let you click on your/your opponent's character's avatar to get a full read out of their abilities, and allows you to sift through both discard piles really fast if you want to do that.
|
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2015 18:40
|
|
|
Did anyone manage to play Trickerion at Essen last year? I'd be curious to hear about how it plays, but I think I'm mostly enamored with its theme.
|
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2015 19:14
|
|
|
Countblanc posted:The web version is fully-featured, there's nothing "trial" about it. The interface is really good too, it does poo poo like auto-sort your hand (which wouldn't ever work against an irl opponent for obvious reasons), let you click on your/your opponent's character's avatar to get a full read out of their abilities, and allows you to sift through both discard piles really fast if you want to do that. Out of curiosity, do you automatically get access to the characters online when you buy those characters physically? How does that work?
|
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2015 19:16
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 15, 2024 10:40 |
|
|
Shes Not Impressed posted:If they've played BSG, Resistance, Chinatown, and a few other lighter games, how much of a hurdle do you think the fiddly pieces and mechanics will hold progress back? Nobody answered this so I guess I will. I'll start by saying that I don't find Archipelago to be very fiddly. Now I define fiddly basically by "how much poo poo do you have to look up/potentially forget?", not by weight of game. So for example Arkham Horror is a very fiddly game because you can forget that the Terror Track has closed the shops, or that you were supposed to get a dollar because you have a special piece of equipment, or whatever. Some people use "fiddly" as synonymous with game weight, but I don't believe in that. If things are distinctly phased, well laid-out and easily referenced then that, to me, is not fiddly. The real issue with Archipelago is that there's just a lot you can do, and unlike the designer's previous game, Earth Reborn, there isn't a teaching scenario that introduces core mechanics and then builds on them. You get the full action disk at your first game, all the tiles, all the economic stuff. That makes the first game kind of intimidating. There's also the aforementioned "tragedy of the commons" element where players are given a shitload of leeway to be stupid and greedy enough to gently caress the game into an unwinnable state for everyone. It's one of those games that needs a skillful teacher and the right kind of player. I do think that everyone should try it at least once, because it's a great example of a boardgame that rewards soft skills and knowing when to help and hurt people over "beep boop I am a worker placement robot, solve for x" gameplay.
|
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2015 19:25
|
|