Board Game Thread 4e: The Call of Catan

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Kashuno: Oct 9, 2012; Where the hell is my SWORD?; Grimey Drawer

Johnny Truant posted:

Err, say what now?

Also if anybody wants to set up any asynchronous games, I'm down, as well! Never played them but it's gotta help my FCM strategy at least a little bit, right?

As in: BGC I assume is a website or something? I've never used it before!

# ? Apr 21, 2017 22:08

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# ? May 28, 2024 00:43

Johnny Truant: Jul 22, 2008

Kashuno posted:

As in: BGC I assume is a website or something? I've never used it before!

Oh, my bad haha! play.boardgamecore.net

# ? Apr 21, 2017 22:28

Adimeadozen: Apr 6, 2004; Not That Guy

I was wondering if maybe someone could help me identify a board game-

I've had vague images of a game I played a few dozen times that have been burning in the back of my mind for, I hate to say it, the better part of two decades- I think of the drat thing just a couple times a year and always wonder "What the hell WAS that game anyway" and it bothers me more than it should, except now I'm starting to realize I'm forgetting more and more aspects of the game, so it's only going to get less and less likely I'll ever figure it out. If anyone is willing to help, here's what I know:

-I played it in the mid-to-late 90s and it seemed old then, but it could have actually just been poorly made
-It didn't have a traditional board, instead it had fairly large cardstock (not board) squares that you'd flip over from a deck as the game progressed to reveal a map
-I seem to remember it was set in a forest, with the tiles almost all being paths in the forest... there might have been one with a tower
-There were different characters you'd choose from, and they had different amounts of 3 or 4 set attributes- I can only distantly remember any idea of the characters now (there may have been a knight, there may have been a bard), and can't remember what the attributes were
-Along the way there were things that would happen, but I honestly can't recall if they'd happen when you flipped over a tile, entered a new space, or if they were drawn from a deck, tied to locations, etc- you almost certainly could find items that would boost your attributes.
-I have no idea what the goal was- I think you had to reveal tile after tile until you found something specific, like a key, that would let you access some end-game equivalent; a boss fight or something
-The art style was sort of traditional-campy in a way that it made me think of better-shaded-than-an-animated-cel freeze frames from cartoons of the 70s and 80s, but that could be pure aging hallucination
-It was definitely at least a medieval/renaissance-y setting, surely must have been Fantasy because I seem to remember a magical ring

And that's really it- I haven't done much beyond countless google searches, but I've never seen anything like it at a game store, and the place I played it hasn't existed for around 15 years.

# ? Apr 21, 2017 23:10

homullus: Mar 27, 2009

Adimeadozen posted:

I was wondering if maybe someone could help me identify a board game-

I've had vague images of a game I played a few dozen times that have been burning in the back of my mind for, I hate to say it, the better part of two decades- I think of the drat thing just a couple times a year and always wonder "What the hell WAS that game anyway" and it bothers me more than it should, except now I'm starting to realize I'm forgetting more and more aspects of the game, so it's only going to get less and less likely I'll ever figure it out. If anyone is willing to help, here's what I know:

-I played it in the mid-to-late 90s and it seemed old then, but it could have actually just been poorly made
-It didn't have a traditional board, instead it had fairly large cardstock (not board) squares that you'd flip over from a deck as the game progressed to reveal a map
-I seem to remember it was set in a forest, with the tiles almost all being paths in the forest... there might have been one with a tower
-There were different characters you'd choose from, and they had different amounts of 3 or 4 set attributes- I can only distantly remember any idea of the characters now (there may have been a knight, there may have been a bard), and can't remember what the attributes were
-Along the way there were things that would happen, but I honestly can't recall if they'd happen when you flipped over a tile, entered a new space, or if they were drawn from a deck, tied to locations, etc- you almost certainly could find items that would boost your attributes.
-I have no idea what the goal was- I think you had to reveal tile after tile until you found something specific, like a key, that would let you access some end-game equivalent; a boss fight or something
-The art style was sort of traditional-campy in a way that it made me think of better-shaded-than-an-animated-cel freeze frames from cartoons of the 70s and 80s, but that could be pure aging hallucination
-It was definitely at least a medieval/renaissance-y setting, surely must have been Fantasy because I seem to remember a magical ring

And that's really it- I haven't done much beyond countless google searches, but I've never seen anything like it at a game store, and the place I played it hasn't existed for around 15 years.

Magic Realm?

# ? Apr 21, 2017 23:17

Jedit: Dec 10, 2011; Proudly supporting vanilla legends 1994-2014

Adimeadozen posted:

I was wondering if maybe someone could help me identify a board game-

I've had vague images of a game I played a few dozen times that have been burning in the back of my mind for, I hate to say it, the better part of two decades- I think of the drat thing just a couple times a year and always wonder "What the hell WAS that game anyway" and it bothers me more than it should, except now I'm starting to realize I'm forgetting more and more aspects of the game, so it's only going to get less and less likely I'll ever figure it out. If anyone is willing to help, here's what I know:

-I played it in the mid-to-late 90s and it seemed old then, but it could have actually just been poorly made
-It didn't have a traditional board, instead it had fairly large cardstock (not board) squares that you'd flip over from a deck as the game progressed to reveal a map
-I seem to remember it was set in a forest, with the tiles almost all being paths in the forest... there might have been one with a tower
-There were different characters you'd choose from, and they had different amounts of 3 or 4 set attributes- I can only distantly remember any idea of the characters now (there may have been a knight, there may have been a bard), and can't remember what the attributes were
-Along the way there were things that would happen, but I honestly can't recall if they'd happen when you flipped over a tile, entered a new space, or if they were drawn from a deck, tied to locations, etc- you almost certainly could find items that would boost your attributes.
-I have no idea what the goal was- I think you had to reveal tile after tile until you found something specific, like a key, that would let you access some end-game equivalent; a boss fight or something
-The art style was sort of traditional-campy in a way that it made me think of better-shaded-than-an-animated-cel freeze frames from cartoons of the 70s and 80s, but that could be pure aging hallucination
-It was definitely at least a medieval/renaissance-y setting, surely must have been Fantasy because I seem to remember a magical ring

And that's really it- I haven't done much beyond countless google searches, but I've never seen anything like it at a game store, and the place I played it hasn't existed for around 15 years.

Sounds like The Mystic Wood. I never owned it, but I did own its semi-sequel The Sorcerer's Cave.

# ? Apr 21, 2017 23:18

The Eyes Have It: Feb 10, 2008; Third Eye Sees All
...snookums

Mystic Wood looks awesome, but it's probably pretty bad :shepface:

# ? Apr 21, 2017 23:48

lordsummerisle: Aug 4, 2013

nomadotto posted:

Strong recommend for Gloomhaven if you're at all into dungeon crawlers. It's got a wonderful, meaty, tactical engine, which, contrary to lordsummerisle, I feel is a lot less random than Mage Knight. I know you can play cards sideways to mitigate against getting screwed on one element or another of MK, but in my experience, I'm much more likely to have a situation in MK where I can't meaningfully move the ball forward than in Gloomhaven (although it is slightly mitigated by the fact that in Gloomhaven, there are turns where I'm resting, but my allies are moving ahead). The dice decks are actually an amazing bit of game technology, in that they allow for controlled randomness and character modification in a super-intuitive way. The monster decks are great, and really help to make the various critters feel different, although I'd say that I wish the AI targeting priorities changed from monster to monster, though it does help to make taking something you can actually do. Agree w/r/t the Ameritrashiness, though. There's a lot of fiddly components to keep track of, and it's easy to forget a modifier here and an element there. Doing it solo will be a huge challenge, but it's a great experience.

I mainly meant that there is much less randomness AFTER you make your choices in Mage Knight. But I will still argue that Gloomhaven has more luck in general compared to MK. This however reduces the excitement levels in MK to a degree, turning it into a math puzzle. MK never feels like "doing your taxes".

Speaking of which.....when are we getting our Eurogame about filling tax forms?

# ? Apr 21, 2017 23:58

Fate Accomplice: Nov 30, 2006

If there is any Food Chain Magnate on BGC happening tonight, I am available.

username: ketchup vs catsup

# ? Apr 22, 2017 00:42

malkav11: Aug 7, 2009

silvergoose posted:

Extremely bad. Talisman bad.

That's not fair to Talisman, which at least fucks you over less with movement and gives you some sort of encounter regardless of whether someone else had already landed on that space.

# ? Apr 22, 2017 02:37

Johnny Truant: Jul 22, 2008

Alright I just got home and I'm getting situated, what's good on the FCM front? I've gotta figure out this new Chromebook I'm on, no idea how to Skype yet, haha. Might just run my old laptop right next to me, dual computer it up :cool:

# ? Apr 22, 2017 03:03

Fate Accomplice: Nov 30, 2006

Johnny Truant posted:

Alright I just got home and I'm getting situated, what's good on the FCM front? I've gotta figure out this new Chromebook I'm on, no idea how to Skype yet, haha. Might just run my old laptop right next to me, dual computer it up

if you're starting a game, I'm in. same username.

# ? Apr 22, 2017 03:08

CommonShore: Jun 6, 2014; A true renaissance man

I'm home and I just fired at you on skype

# ? Apr 22, 2017 03:13

Johnny Truant: Jul 22, 2008

CommonShore posted:

I'm home and I just fired at you on skype

Okay hopping on my computer with Skype right now, one second

# ? Apr 22, 2017 03:14

Kashuno: Oct 9, 2012; Where the hell is my SWORD?; Grimey Drawer

Johnny Truant posted:

Alright I just got home and I'm getting situated, what's good on the FCM front? I've gotta figure out this new Chromebook I'm on, no idea how to Skype yet, haha. Might just run my old laptop right next to me, dual computer it up

Unfortunately my medicine is kicking in and I will probably pass out halfway through a game

aaa I wanna play this game!

# ? Apr 22, 2017 03:15

Johnny Truant: Jul 22, 2008

ketchup vs catsup posted:

if you're starting a game, I'm in. same username.

Game's up!

# ? Apr 22, 2017 03:27

angel opportunity: Sep 7, 2004; Total Eclipse of the Heart

If you guys play another game I am on now

# ? Apr 22, 2017 04:43

Gameko: Feb 23, 2006; The friend of all children!

Guys thanks for the capsule reviews of Gloomhaven. It's really helpful for me to make a decision about contributing to the current kickstarter.

I like Mageknight as it provides a fun board game experience when I can't get a real game kicking. It seems like Gloomhaven will function in a similar manner, though maybe it will help me get my D&D fix too? I'm not sure I'll ever get my board game group to play GH, but it sounds like I can get a lot of enjoyment from it solo.

# ? Apr 22, 2017 06:01

Jedit: Dec 10, 2011; Proudly supporting vanilla legends 1994-2014

Mister Sinewave posted:

Mystic Wood looks awesome, but it's probably pretty bad

I don't think I'd want to go back to Sorcerer's Cave 35 years later, but it was definitely a big step up from any game most kids would be playing in 1980. If you want to find out for yourself, though, Peter Donnelly is also a computer programmer and he made a digital version of the game that can be downloaded freely from his website (donations welcome).

The site also has a couple of essays he wrote about the two games and how and why he designed them.

# ? Apr 22, 2017 08:35

stev: Jan 22, 2013; Please be excited.

Has anyone had a chance to play the Dark Souls game yet? I think my copy's coming next week. Simultaneously pumped to try it and thinking 'gently caress why did I spend so much on that'.

# ? Apr 22, 2017 10:52

Mojo Jojo: Sep 21, 2005

Steve2911 posted:

Has anyone had a chance to play the Dark Souls game yet? I think my copy's coming next week. Simultaneously pumped to try it and thinking 'gently caress why did I spend so much on that'.

Despite looking terrible during the kickstarter and all the updates maintaining that the early impressions are largely positive. It's a Christmas miracle

# ? Apr 22, 2017 12:31

Cthulhu Dreams: Dec 11, 2010; If I pretend to be Cthulhu no one will know I'm a baseball robot.

Mojo Jojo posted:

Despite looking terrible during the kickstarter and all the updates maintaining that the early impressions are largely positive. It's a Christmas miracle

I've seen two bad reviews (Vassals review is apparently bad but I refuse to give him traffic and polygon have it a bad review), eurogamer said it was good and man vs Meeple said nothing which makes me think bad.

What good reviews have you seen?

# ? Apr 22, 2017 12:58

Bottom Liner: Feb 15, 2006; a specific vein of lasagna

Vassal apparently hosed up some major rules but when it was pointed out on Reddit he said it didn't change his opinion on the game. Why the gently caress does anyone trust this idiot or give him money :psyduck:

# ? Apr 22, 2017 14:04

Kashuno: Oct 9, 2012; Where the hell is my SWORD?; Grimey Drawer

Bottom Liner posted:

Vassal apparently hosed up some major rules but when it was pointed out on Reddit he said it didn't change his opinion on the game. Why the gently caress does anyone trust this idiot or give him money

1) mistakes happen to everyone, especially board game reviewers, so people will overlook this kind of stuff
2) it is very possible even considering a rules change doesn't fix the issue so he has with it
3) dice tower produces A LOT of content, with the quality having significantly improved over time
4) they've been around a really long time and are one of the big daddies of board game reviews
5) they are willing to try new things and engage with their audience
6) tom is just a genuinely nice dude

I mean far be it from me to stick my neck out to defend the dice tower, but they are where they are for obvious reasons

# ? Apr 22, 2017 14:24

angel opportunity: Sep 7, 2004; Total Eclipse of the Heart

This is not what you guys asked for when you said you wanted a video teaching the rules to FCM, but I'm doing it anyway.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtYMt_0Opg4

This is a 1v1 game I played last night against JohnnyTruant. He didn't understand the 2-player rules (he thought there were some weird changes in the rules that are not actually there) so he misplays pretty badly. I'm trying to commentate the game enough that even if you don't know the rules, you can figure out what is going on. I really liked the Brian Reynolds videos, and even though he never explains the rules to Twilight Struggle, I know the rules after watching two of his matches. I'm basically trying to do that, but my production quality is way worse.

I think the resolution got stretched weirdly somehow, and I should be able to fix that in future videos so it's not all grainy and stretched out looking.

# ? Apr 22, 2017 16:34

Countblanc: Apr 20, 2005; _{Help a hero out!}

e: n/m

Countblanc fucked around with this message at 19:29 on Apr 22, 2017

# ? Apr 22, 2017 16:40

The Eyes Have It: Feb 10, 2008; Third Eye Sees All
...snookums

Jedit posted:

I don't think I'd want to go back to Sorcerer's Cave 35 years later, but it was definitely a big step up from any game most kids would be playing in 1980. If you want to find out for yourself, though, Peter Donnelly is also a computer programmer and he made a digital version of the game that can be downloaded freely from his website (donations welcome).

The site also has a couple of essays he wrote about the two games and how and why he designed them.

Wow, thanks!

Even if they haven't aged well, 80s me would have found them rad as hell and I can appreciate then that way even if nothing else.

e: Pity, but Windows 10 just plain flat out refuses to run the program, not even backwards compatibility mode does anything. Apparently 64 bit systems just can't take it

The Eyes Have It fucked around with this message at 17:41 on Apr 22, 2017

# ? Apr 22, 2017 17:00

Fate Accomplice: Nov 30, 2006

angel opportunity posted:

This is not what you guys asked for when you said you wanted a video teaching the rules to FCM, but I'm doing it anyway.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtYMt_0Opg4

This is a 1v1 game I played last night against JohnnyTruant. He didn't understand the 2-player rules (he thought there were some weird changes in the rules that are not actually there) so he misplays pretty badly. I'm trying to commentate the game enough that even if you don't know the rules, you can figure out what is going on. I really liked the Brian Reynolds videos, and even though he never explains the rules to Twilight Struggle, I know the rules after watching two of his matches. I'm basically trying to do that, but my production quality is way worse.

I think the resolution got stretched weirdly somehow, and I should be able to fix that in future videos so it's not all grainy and stretched out looking.

This is super cool, thanks for posting.

I'm curious why you didn't place your starting restaurant between houses 15 and 8? if you'd bottom-left cornered your entrance, you'd be 0 from 8, 1 from 5, 2 from 2, entirely uncontested, plus with drive through you could have eaten all JT's houses with a couple pricing managers at best.

# ? Apr 22, 2017 17:02

angel opportunity: Sep 7, 2004; Total Eclipse of the Heart

ketchup vs catsup posted:

This is super cool, thanks for posting.

I'm curious why you didn't place your starting restaurant between houses 15 and 8? if you'd bottom-left cornered your entrance, you'd be 0 from 8, 1 from 5, 2 from 2, entirely uncontested, plus with drive through you could have eaten all JT's houses with a couple pricing managers at best.

It might have been good, but I wanted to put more pressure on him. I wouldn't have been able to deny him sales on 12 and 10, for instance. I ended up not denying him on 12 and 10 very much, but only because he let me cut him out via pizza and burgers on my garden house. I think being that much closer to his stuff while still being closer to the other houses on the map was worth it.

Generally I've found that placing on corners is really risky, and the best way to punish someone for doing it is to get close to their houses while still being closer to other houses on the map.

# ? Apr 22, 2017 17:26

angel opportunity: Sep 7, 2004; Total Eclipse of the Heart

gently caress! The loving microphone cord popped out at the 40-minute mark and the sound never comes back on. Once again the video is ruined lol.

I need to buy a new mic, going to delete the video also...

edit: I set it to "unlisted" so if you want you can watch the first 40 minutes and just realize there is no audio after that point :/

# ? Apr 22, 2017 17:39

Magnetic North: Dec 15, 2008; Beware the Forest's Mushrooms

Kashuno posted:

2) it is very possible even considering a rules change doesn't fix the issue so he has with it

This is the key. I don't know the rule he got wrong, but I did watch his review. Even without his comments, I just thought "Wow, this would have been impressive if Conan or Gloomhaven didn't exist." Then again, I've never played any of them, so maybe it kicks rear end. I kind of doubt it.

# ? Apr 22, 2017 19:22

thespaceinvader: Mar 30, 2011; The slightest touch from a Gol-Shogeg will result in Instant Death!

enigmahfc posted:

I seriously cannot be the only person who calls this Hot poo poo Co-Pilot...

Hot CoP. E: and I want Kopilotenass because I might actually use it, whereas rear end Rot is poo poo. And I don't play Rebels.

# ? Apr 22, 2017 19:31

Snowy: Oct 6, 2010; A man whose blood
Is very snow-broth;
One who never feels
The wanton stings and
Motions of the sense

Is there a Gloomhaven thread?

I keep hearing great things about it and I'm thinking about picking it up although I have limited gaming experience- just some D&D many years ago and some stuff like a little Betrayal at House on the Hill.

I'm trying to read up more before dropping $100 on something I might not love.

# ? Apr 22, 2017 19:44

Bottom Liner: Feb 15, 2006; a specific vein of lasagna

Snowy posted:

Is there a Gloomhaven thread?

I keep hearing great things about it and I'm thinking about picking it up although I have limited gaming experience- just some D&D many years ago and some stuff like a little Betrayal at House on the Hill.

I'm trying to read up more before dropping $100 on something I might not love.

Do you like D&D for the stories you create or the tactical combat in dungeons? If the former, Gloomhaven probably won't do much for you. If the latter, it's better than any form of D&D combat.

# ? Apr 22, 2017 19:50

The Lord of Hats: Aug 22, 2010; Hello, yes! Is being very good day for posting, no?

Snowy posted:

Is there a Gloomhaven thread?

I keep hearing great things about it and I'm thinking about picking it up although I have limited gaming experience- just some D&D many years ago and some stuff like a little Betrayal at House on the Hill.

I'm trying to read up more before dropping $100 on something I might not love.

There isn't a specific Gloomhaven thread, no, but there's no end of people willing to sing it's praises in here, me included. I think you might find it a little bit fiddly at first, but as long as you have one person relatively well-versed in the rules it's pretty easy for everyone else--the core mechanics are honestly pretty simple.

# ? Apr 22, 2017 19:54

Fate Accomplice: Nov 30, 2006

If anyone wants to play more Food Chain Magnate I am available today. Not skype level responsiveness, but I can take turns every few minutes. same user name as here.

# ? Apr 22, 2017 19:58

Countblanc: Apr 20, 2005; _{Help a hero out!}

The Lord of Hats posted:

There isn't a specific Gloomhaven thread, no, but there's no end of people willing to sing it's praises in here, me included. I think you might find it a little bit fiddly at first, but as long as you have one person relatively well-versed in the rules it's pretty easy for everyone else--the core mechanics are honestly pretty simple.

That said I implore you to make all your friends read the rulebook and ideally watch a tutorial vid. Gloomhaven isn't like the game you bring out on Game Night and teach in 15 minutes, maybe play 2-3 more times over the next two months, and then shelve for 8-12 months before playing it again; it's an endeavor and you'll probably be playing quite a bit of it. Link your friends the rulebook PDF before they come over.

# ? Apr 22, 2017 20:00

Fate Accomplice: Nov 30, 2006

Countblanc posted:

That said I implore you to make all your friends read the rulebook and ideally watch a tutorial vid. Gloomhaven isn't like the game you bring out on Game Night and teach in 15 minutes, maybe play 2-3 more times over the next two months, and then shelve for 8-12 months before playing it again; it's an endeavor and you'll probably be playing quite a bit of it. Link your friends the rulebook PDF before they come over.

Agreed with all of this. That said, it's NOT a difficult game. There's just a lot going on at once.

# ? Apr 22, 2017 20:11

Countblanc: Apr 20, 2005; _{Help a hero out!}

Yeah, nor is the rulebook terribly long. But you'll almost certainly miss something when you read it and invariably someone at your table will ask you what happens when X interacts with Y - having everyone familiar with the rules increases the likelihood that someone actually knows the answer and it keeps the game moving rather than needing to check the rules.

# ? Apr 22, 2017 20:16

Snowy: Oct 6, 2010; A man whose blood
Is very snow-broth;
One who never feels
The wanton stings and
Motions of the sense

Thanks for the gloomhaven info that helps a lot. I'm going to try to drum up interest with a couple friends.

Bottom Liner posted:

Do you like D&D for the stories you create or the tactical combat in dungeons? If the former, Gloomhaven probably won't do much for you. If the latter, it's better than any form of D&D combat.

If I was looking for something more about stories, are there good options in board gaming or is that really just a pen n paper kind of thing? Something that had fun stories and characters but didn't take the time investment of D&D would be cool.

# ? Apr 22, 2017 20:16

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# ? May 28, 2024 00:43

Dr. Lunchables: Dec 27, 2012; IRL DEBUFFED KOBOLD

Snowy posted:

Thanks for the gloomhaven info that helps a lot. I'm going to try to drum up interest with a couple friends.

If I was looking for something more about stories, are there good options in board gaming or is that really just a pen n paper kind of thing? Something that had fun stories and characters but didn't take the time investment of D&D would be cool.

Mansions of Madness 2e, Tales of the Arabian Nights

# ? Apr 22, 2017 20:31

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Traditional Games > Board Game Thread 4e: The Call of Catan

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