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I'm really looking at picking up Unfathomable and I remember there being some useful stuff here. What are people's thoughts on the best/acceptable player counts? To me it feels like it should be 5-6 players, but does 4 work well too?
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Apr 4, 2022 21:01
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Redundant posted:I'm really looking at picking up Unfathomable and I remember there being some useful stuff here. What are people's thoughts on the best/acceptable player counts? To me it feels like it should be 5-6 players, but does 4 work well too? I've only played with four and it's good.
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Apr 4, 2022 21:27
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4 works much better in Unfathomable than it did in BSG. The Cultist is a big improvement over the Sympathizer. 3 doesn't really work though, it's very very easy for the humans to get stuck in a death spiral with that few players.
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Apr 4, 2022 21:27
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MockingQuantum posted:4 works much better in Unfathomable than it did in BSG. The Cultist is a big improvement over the Sympathizer. I've been seeing a fair bit of "too hard for humans" talk here and elsewhere. Which in itself is a bit of an issue, but is it at least FUN even if you lose? I'm also interested in this game but not if half the players are gonna be miserable every time we finish.
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Apr 4, 2022 21:39
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Yeah, I could see humans being the harder side - most of my games have ended in a human loss except for the "starter" mode where you get fewer hybrid players. I'd have thought that would be fairly easily remedied if it's the case though - give humans an extra point of every resource, maybe?
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Apr 4, 2022 21:41
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I play it regularly with 5 and I think that's the sweet spot for not getting card starved before your turn comes back up Would not play it with less than 4.
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Apr 4, 2022 21:41
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Magnetic North posted:Hey me too.
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Apr 4, 2022 21:42
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Countblanc posted:My favourite 8 player game by a huge margin is Space Cadets: Dice Duels. Countblanc gets it. Dice Duels loving owns hard
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Apr 4, 2022 22:27
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Slyphic posted:I noticed. My own notes are woefully inadequate next to your write up, but I should post anyways over there. Nisei's a deeply cool project. We've got a decently active ANR scene here in Austin, regular game nights on Thursdays with a good half to a dozen people in attendance any given night, and semi-monthly tournaments. At least one or two of the locals are involved with Niesei. Shout out to Emerald Tavern, fantastic board game pub, for hosting. I'm jealous. I've converted exactly one ex-MTG player (who is buying back into MTG now  ) and failed to convert another so far.
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Apr 4, 2022 22:44
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CodfishCartographer posted:Countblanc gets it. Dice Duels loving owns hard This sounds neat. Is it kinda like Captain Sonar? What's the overlap like with that?
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Apr 5, 2022 01:15
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I had the most infuriating sequence of events in Spirit Island the other night. Playing 1p as Starlight, and I get a ravage in which the invaders - generic invaders, it was my first play with the stars and I wanted to take it easy - the invaders blight a land, but in doing so they doom their last town to a Dahan counterattack. BUT, it's the last blight on the Healthy Island card, and when I check the rulebook I discover that you resolve the Blighted Island flip the instant the last blight is placed, before the counterattack part of the ravage. And wouldn't you know it, it's the Blighted Island card that upgrades four invader towns into cities, or explorers into towns. So, at the last possible instant, the invaders totally recover, just in time for the Phase 3 cards. And the "last" town suddenly becomes a city, and shrugs off the counterattack from a single Dahan. I still beat them, though. That one Major Power that lets you drop two presence for 4 energy is pretty sick.
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Apr 5, 2022 01:48
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Magnetic North posted:I'm jealous. I've converted exactly one ex-MTG player (who is buying back into MTG now Man if I had people local who played this seems right up my alley. MTG is so easy to get back into though given the support it gets. I don't even play paper any more, is there a digital NISEI implementation?
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Apr 5, 2022 06:43
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The cards are on Jinteki, the online Netrunner platform.
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Apr 5, 2022 07:00
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dishwasherlove posted:This sounds neat. Is it kinda like Captain Sonar? What's the overlap like with that? I haven't played Captain Sonar, but I am familiar with the rules. Hopefully someone who's played both can speak better about comparing them? Dice Duels, at least when I've played, almost always devolves into lots of screaming and panicking, in the best way possible. Each person is more or less doing their own thing, but have demands of one or two of the other players on their team, so there's lots of WHAT ARE YOU DOING, I NEED A FOUR only to replied with gently caress I JUST GAVE ALL THE DICE AWAY TO THE OTHER GUY and then the other team yells FIRE and everything grinds to a climactic halt as you somehow panicand hold your breath at the same time cus gently caress gently caress gently caress your shields are on the complete wrong side of the ship and one more hit is all it'll take to-oh, they fired their missiles in the opposite direction of your ship, lmao, then everyone starts screaming again
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Apr 5, 2022 07:23
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dishwasherlove posted:This sounds neat. Is it kinda like Captain Sonar? What's the overlap like with that? Its a similar idea. Its better because it never has the huge anti-climatic moments where you realise that there was a miss communication between the two captains about which direction someone went or someone cheated.
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Apr 5, 2022 08:01
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More people should try Captain Sonar's turn-based mode instead of the real time mode. They're obviously different experiences and the real-time mode is good but I prefer the tense back and forth of turn-based.
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Apr 5, 2022 13:30
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Is Captain Sonar best played with eight people?
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Apr 5, 2022 16:13
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Armauk posted:Is Captain Sonar best played with eight people? Absolutely. Some (most?) would argue it should only be played with 8 people.
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Apr 5, 2022 16:30
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armorer posted:Absolutely. Some (most?) would argue it should only be played with 8 people. If you’re playing real time, absolutely. But: Radioactive Toy posted:More people should try Captain Sonar's turn-based mode instead of the real time mode. They're obviously different experiences and the real-time mode is good but I prefer the tense back and forth of turn-based.
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Apr 5, 2022 16:43
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By the way, I ended up buying Mysterium and Just One. Thanks for the other recommendations though, I'll keep those in mind in the future. Also I recently started playing Star Realms and I like it a lot, is there a recommended order for buying more expansions?
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Apr 5, 2022 16:53
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Captain Sonar is best with 6 and only 6  The power charging role is boring and nobody wants it. Even the non-gamers in my group scoffed at having the do-nothing job. It can be merged into the captain role.
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Apr 5, 2022 17:08
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I've found 6 to be optimal for Captain Sonar too. Everyone has enough to do or stretches a bit to fill their role.
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Apr 5, 2022 17:22
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Sokani posted:Captain Sonar is best with 6 and only 6 I think it's a good role if you have anybody who has zero idea what they're getting into, or if your players are at different experience levels with the game. I play a few times a year and I'm usually captain or engineer, but my partner is freakishly good at the radio operator, and I usually play against at least a couple of very experienced players, so we go very fast. First Mate is good for new players in that instance since they can generally keep up with more experienced players. We also sometimes play where the FM is the only one who can use drone and sonar, which at least makes the game a little more interesting for them, though it probably requires them sitting next to the radio op.
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Apr 5, 2022 17:23
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I went to a small boardgaming convention over the weekend, the first I've been to since early 2020. I got to try a ton of new games that probably aren't actually new, but that I hadn't played due to being a hermit for two years. Thanks COVID! Highlights (and lowlights): Anno 1800 - I'm a huge fan of the PC game, so I was looking forward to this despite being lukewarm on Martin Wallace's catalog. It's excellent -- a not-too-crunchy resource and worker management game that doesn't overstay its welcome. I liked this enough to play twice, and I've already ordered a copy for my library.  Scout - A plucky little ladder-climbing card game that my group absolutely loved. It avoids the trap of "eventually the trick will get too high to beat" by also allowing you to forego playing a card to claim an existing card into your hand -- making the trick easier for others to beat, and improving your own hand. This is my other new purchase from the weekend.  Bunny Kingdom - A non-confrontational area control game featuring card drafting? With bunnies? Bunnies that build castles? It's absolutely charming, and fun to play, too. The luck factor is maybe slightly higher than I'd like, but overall it's a solid game I'd play again. I mean, what's not to love:  Parks (with Nightfall expansion) - A lovely path traversal and resource collection game along the lines of Tokaido. Hike down the path, get resources, photograph animals, collect parks cards. The whole thing is beautifully illustrated, and it's generally a pleasure to play. I was on the fence about buying it, but I think I'd need a few more plays because I suspect it may not have enough depth for high replay value.  Canvas - Another beautiful game with a novel concept -- using transparent cards to make "modular" artwork. The mechanics aren't anything new or special -- it's just simple market-based card collection and pattern matching -- but the overall experience is quite fun. Probably not fun enough to justify its high price tag, though.  Kokopelli - Gotta play the new Feld game, right? Except this didn't feel like a Feld design. It's a fairly straightforward card-placement and set-building game. You won't find any "points salad" here, and the flow is much more adversarial than most traditional Euros. Your "play area" extends onto your neighbors' boards, meaning you can block them or completely wreck their plans by playing into their areas. I enjoyed my time with the game, but I think I've seen everything it has to offer after one playthrough.  Return to the Dark Tower - I was prepared for a nostalgia cash-in paired with the worst possible Kickstarter excesses. I was pleasantly surprised. The new Dark Tower is a standard co-op overworld "dungeon crawl" style game that reminds me of Legends of Andor. The eponymous dark tower is pretty cool, lighting up and spinning and occasionally spitting out skulls onto the board to foil your plans. The main downside is that the game is app-driven, which isn't an indictment by itself, but it runs on ONE device -- so either someone's phone is constantly passed around, or one player is stuck reading to everyone. This would drastically be improved by an iPad on a stand. Fun game, play it if you can, don't pay $125+ for it.  The Search for Planet X - A very cool deduction game with some novel mechanics. Your actions let you scan the night sky in various ways, but the Earth constantly revolves around the sun, adding complexity into your ability to find the information you want. It's an app-driven game, but the implementation is well-done. It doesn't feel nearly as cumbersome as Return to Dark Tower, because everyone can use their own device to play.  Karesansui - The Rock Garden - I generally don't like auction games, and this is no exception. Bid on rocks. But you don't want the rocks. You want to NOT get rocks. So you're bidding to get the fewest rocks.  Rocks. Thank you for coming to my TED talk.
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Apr 5, 2022 18:00
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I ended up enjoying Kokopelli a bit more than you; it felt like a game that's 100% take-that, but in a friendly way so no one gets ruffled feathers. Which felt pretty unique, I'm not sure what else I could describe as that.
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Apr 5, 2022 18:19
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silvergoose posted:I ended up enjoying Kokopelli a bit more than you; it felt like a game that's 100% take-that, but in a friendly way so no one gets ruffled feathers. I didn't hate Kokopelli; I definitely had fun with it. It just wasn't what I was expecting, and I don't feel a drive to play again. The novel element is being able to play on your neighbors' boards, which is a cool twist. But for me, that twist isn't enough to carry mechanics that are too similar to a dozen other games I've already played.
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Apr 5, 2022 18:43
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Elman posted:Also I recently started playing Star Realms and I like it a lot, is there a recommended order for buying more expansions? I have played quite a lot of (original) Star Realms and never felt any of the expansions were really needed. Maybe those that give more ships and station. I think heroes and events were kinda bad. Also I would super-recommend Valley of the Kings, it is the game Star Realms wishes it was. Also the digital versions of Star Realms are very nice, since you don't have to keep tab of everything.
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Apr 5, 2022 18:46
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For Star Realms, the other base sets (Frontiers, Colony Wars) are recommended. The various new mechanics introduced in other expansions (gambits, events, leaders, scenarios, multi-faction cards, etc.) mostly just complicate things for no real increase in fun or strategic depth, the sort of unnecessary gilding-the-lily that so many game expansions deliver. Worth picking up only if you've played the game so many times that it has become stale, but if that's the case it's probably time to move on to another game. Agree with High Tension Wire that the digital app is very, very good, and that Valley of the Kings is another excellent market-based deckbuilder.
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Apr 5, 2022 18:52
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WhiteHowler posted:Karesansui - The Rock Garden - I generally don't like auction games, and this is no exception. Bid on rocks. But you don't want the rocks. You want to NOT get rocks. So you're bidding to get the fewest rocks.
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Apr 5, 2022 21:16
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I caved and picked up Unfathomable. Time to learn it before my game day in a couple of weeks.
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Apr 5, 2022 23:52
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Dark Tower works well if you can Chromecast the app to your TV.
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Apr 6, 2022 00:03
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Finally got to play The Field of the Cloth of Gold tonight ( with the designer  ) and I immediately want to order my own copy. It's amazing how every decision you make in the game feels like a bad one, but, that's the game. It's great!I lost, though, with end game scoring basically ruining my clever plans. I'm eager to play it again though, and explore the decision space some more now that I see how it works. The strategy was hard to figure out just by reading the rules and hearing the teach. At first it feels counter intuitive to be giving something to your opponent when you take your turn, but there's something wonderful about trying to figure out what would help them the least.
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Apr 6, 2022 04:52
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FirstAidKite posted:I have a new "escape room in a box" arriving tomorrow called The Emerald Flame. Hoping it'll be pretty fun I hope this is as good as it looks, because I somehow managed to accidentally order it when I thought I was just checking the shipping cost.
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Apr 6, 2022 10:01
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Asmodee has put out 2 mini PnP expansions for Small World and Small World of Warcraft https://print-and-play.asmodee.fun/en/game/smallworld quote:As the sun touches the mountain tops with predawn light, the Lost Tribes of Small World creep out of the shadows. After centuries of humiliation, they've emerged for revenge. Can you survive their retaliation? https://print-and-play.asmodee.fun/en/game/small-world-of-warcraft quote:For decades, they have been despised by all and taken advantage of. Bullied by both the Alliance and the Horde, enslaved by the Naga or forced out of their homelands by every other living race, the Murlocs have finally reached their breaking point. They have gathered their troops and are looking for one thing, and one thing only: revenge. Will you survive the giant, scaly wave that is about to submerge all of Azeroth?
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Apr 6, 2022 10:14
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SUSD just dropped the review of quacks Alchemists (a good game): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRSsICF-ZSQ
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Apr 6, 2022 20:07
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Frozen Peach posted:Finally got to play The Field of the Cloth of Gold tonight ( with the designer I think the giving part of the game is the most important for the feel of the game. If it were an ordinary worker placement game, you would be aware of the spaces you are leaving available to opponents, and can at least hope they don't choose certain ones. In this game, you are leaving options open and also always giving something to your opponent directly and immediately, and depending on the tiles in their hand and court, you may have an excellent idea of how much you are advancing their cause. For those born without amazing computer brains, it makes a rapid cost-benefit analysis more challenging. If you haven't played the game much, you also won't have as good a sense of how each color is really worth spending a turn on. I suspect that at a high level, with two equally-skilled players, it's going to come down to who gets coincidentally-better Secrecy draws, which, well, Ms. Holland has always been clear about how it is a simpler game. My limited experience is (1) that you want to get off the first row of the scoring track as soon as possible by any means necessary so that you get more tiles in both of the actions that prompt Secrecy draws, and (2) that playing gold when you'll score 2 is always solid, because the gold tiles all count again at endgame scoring.
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Apr 6, 2022 20:28
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Viper915 posted:I hope this is as good as it looks, because I somehow managed to accidentally order it when I thought I was just checking the shipping cost. Oh. Uhm. I'm sorry.
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Apr 6, 2022 20:50
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homullus posted:I suspect that at a high level, with two equally-skilled players Personally, I will never play a game at a high level with equally skilled players. That's just not interesting to me, and I don't think most games are designed with that in mind. The vast majority of players are not in those categories, so when a game degenerates under those circumstances I don't see it as a flaw. I certainly don't design my games with that in mind. I feel like arguments like this really do a disservice to games that are built to be fun and entertaining. Field largely does what it says on the tin, and that's what is interesting to me. When you only have a choice of two terrible things, both of which involve stabbing yourself in with a knife, what do you choose? Yeah, drawing tiles is super powerful. So don't let your opponent draw tiles. But you have to let your opponent draw tiles. That's the game. Gold is super powerful, so don't give your opponent gold. But you have to give your opponent gold. That's the game. Looking back on my first play, the biggest mistake I made was underestimating how much end game scoring matter, which frankly I do in a lot of games.
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Apr 6, 2022 21:22
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Frozen Peach posted:Personally, I will never play a game at a high level with equally skilled players. That's just not interesting to me, and I don't think most games are designed with that in mind. The vast majority of players are not in those categories, so when a game degenerates under those circumstances I don't see it as a flaw. I certainly don't design my games with that in mind. Sure, I agree. There are no games that I play at a highly-skilled level either. By "high level" I meant "macro" or "high-altitude," looking at it in a broad/overall way. I am sorry I chose a misleading phrase.
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Apr 6, 2022 23:26
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homullus posted:Sure, I agree. There are no games that I play at a highly-skilled level either. By "high level" I meant "macro" or "high-altitude," looking at it in a broad/overall way. I am sorry I chose a misleading phrase. Oh. Sorry for the misunderstanding then! I went on a rant for no reason! I just see takes like that all the time and it rankles me. Talking about balance in board games gets me going.
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Apr 7, 2022 01:54
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