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Megasabin posted:How did Millennium Blades Collusion turnout? I guess it depends on what you didn't like about Millennium Blades to begin with. The core format is basically unchanged, but adding NPC cards means you can no longer just sit on your money to win, and splitting the market deck into two decks (one for Core and one for Expansions) goes a long way towards making the store less frustrating. Other than that, well, it's more Millennium Blades. There's an incredible amount of variety in there with all the additional expansions and characters. Overall I love it (but also, I loved the base game).
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Jan 17, 2023 20:07
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tinstaach posted:Busted out Quacks of Quedlinburg, and it was a hit! Everyone loved it! So if you want, I brought some other games we can try for a little variety...no? You want to stick with this one? Okay, well the ingredients have these different variations so you can...no? Don't want to learn any new rules? What if we just flip over our boards for a...no? Just this beginner's setup, twelve times in five days? Okay then, as long as we're getting something to the table. Oh my god it feels so good to know I’m not the only one
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Jan 17, 2023 20:19
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tinstaach posted:Just this beginner's setup, twelve times in five days? Okay then, as long as we're getting something to the table. I had a similar experience with Dominion.
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Jan 17, 2023 20:24
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I'd like to thank DHL for accepting $65 (plus $26 for duties, taxes, customs fees) to deliver me Horseless Carriage shipped in the raw with zero packing material whatsoever, and a big thank you to Customs for pulling it out of the shrink wrap for me. Also some mysterious stranger(?) for the faint blade scratch along the front of the box. 
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Jan 17, 2023 20:29
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The Eyes Have It posted:I'd like to thank DHL for accepting $65 (plus $26 for duties, taxes, customs fees) to deliver me Horseless Carriage shipped in the raw with zero packing material whatsoever, and a big thank you to Customs for pulling it Oh god I just got my shipping notification. Are they really shipping it in the nuds? That's super lovely if so.
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Jan 17, 2023 20:37
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Megasabin posted:
1) Collusion is a typical level 99 games expansion. 2) They are better but they are not going to change anyone's mind about the game. 3) In my view the more the game encourages you to spend money and/or change your deck the better it is, because sticking with one deck concept and hording money is boring. The rules changes in in Collusion both remove the incentive to hold onto money and take more cards out of the system. 4) No.
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Jan 17, 2023 21:31
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Spiteski posted:Oh god I just got my shipping notification. Are they really shipping it in the nuds? That's super lovely if so. My box was a snug fit at least, so it's not totally rattling around in there. But it is also just normal cardboard (not double layer or anything) with no packing material and no corner protections. Despite the scratch and customs peeling it open for me, the game itself is in good shape! But knowing shipping, that's more luck than anything. I heard (and practically felt) it hit my doorstep when it got delivered, I'm shocked it's not in worse shape just from that.
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Jan 17, 2023 21:45
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Magnetic North posted:Actually just got it quite recently, but didn't break it out yet since we only had an odd number. Ahh, I just assumed you had only the base set since you mentioned Italia. It's an OK map, but I'd rather play on Hellas with 3 players or Ionia with 4. FYI, most of the Venus components can still be used with individual play. (There is a little overhead in that you have to sort the cards into "core deck", "core personalities", individual "add-ins", and team "add-ins." I found a file on BGG that clarified this for me and was very helpful.) I haven't tried the Salsa tiles either. I keep meaning to introduce them but there's always a new player at the meetup or (at home) the fam wants to "keep it simple." It's Aegyptus/Creta. I know this because I just paid a ridiculous amount of money to get this through eBay. (I need a two-player map besides mini-Ionia, and from what I've read on BGG the Gallia side of Gallia-3/Corsica-2 doesn't add much while both Aegyptus and Creta can be used as 2 player maps.) Cyprus is a six player map; I'd guess it would also come in the Venus expansion because of that, but I don't know what's printed on the other side of it. I'm still trying to decide whether to pull the trigger on Balearica to get the fish market. What's another map I may never get to the table? (Cf. Power Grid.) Here's that BGG post I referenced about maps: https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/2611782/big-forum-post-about-maps edit: Here's the BGG file that shows the three different Venus card sets (Vanilla, Venus Individual, Venus Team): https://boardgamegeek.com/filepage/229309/concordia-venus-card-overview Admiralty Flag fucked around with this message at 22:26 on Jan 17, 2023 |
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Jan 17, 2023 22:23
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Admiralty Flag posted:I'm still trying to decide whether to pull the trigger on Balearica to get the fish market. What's another map I may never get to the table? (Cf. Power Grid.) I didn't play with the fish market rondel thing, but we did play that map in the past and enjoyed it. Don't remember much except it was small, boat focused, and weird. But hey, that makes me 3 for 3 for enjoying board games featuring the Balearic Islands set in the past, after Pandemic Iberia and La Granja.
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Jan 17, 2023 22:32
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tinstaach posted:I got the full extent of how being 'the board game person' can be a double-edged sword over the holidays. This is why I put a premium on selling people games that I can happily play over and over again without any variants - usually stuff where the rules are fairly simple but there is a lot of interaction & emergent complexity. I find its games without much interaction (like Quacks) which I find tiresome to play several games in a row of without some kind of variation, whereas if there is a ton of back and forth with other players it doesn't matter nearly as much. Knizia's games are great for this like Tigris & Euphrates, Modern Art, Ra, Through the Desert, Babylonia etc. Via Nebula is another simple one and a good gateway to Brass and heavier interactive errors. Matt Gertz games like Concordia, Imperial 2030, Navegador. The more multiplayer solitaire stuff is (c.f. the twilight inscription description) the more I find it doesn't have legs for successive replays, at least for me/my group. I'd also often rather play the same shorter 1 hour highly interactive/dynamic game 3 times in a row than one 3 hour behemoth which we don't touch again for 3 months. edit: Don't get me wrong, I really like Quacks! I just like playing it now and again, whereas something like Modern Art almost every time I've played everyone wants to immediately start over and play it again fresh and I'm much happier to see what we're all going to shout at each other this time.
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Jan 18, 2023 02:42
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I have complete control over board game night for better or worse so if I say we're trying some alternate boards or whatever tonight, that's what we're doing. Also as a result I spend a non trivial amount of my week reading and reviewing rulebooks.
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Jan 18, 2023 04:42
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I'm looking to fill a missing "slot" in my collection. Most of my games tend to either be party games, very short fillers or on the complete other end, like massive 4x's and other games that are hard to learn and take a minimum of two hours to play. A gateway+ kind of game is what I'm missing. So what I'm ideally looking for is a game that supports 2-4 players, not co-op or hidden movement, plays comfortably under two hours, is easy to teach yet interesting enough for more experienced players, has an okay theme and has a lot of player interaction. Bonus points if we have a shared space/board we all interact with or affect in some way. This might be a big ask. I've tried to fill this spot with several promising games, but none have quite hit the mark for either me or other players. Games I've tried so far: - Clank! Found it lacking in player interaction in addition to the deckbuilding aspect being too random, not to mention quite ugly and anticlimactic. - Quacks of Quidlenburg Is barely a game and has almost the opposite of player interaction - people get hyper focused on their own bag draws. - Ticket to Ride Europe Plays fast enough, has a lot of indirect interaction and some push-your-luck. Is however a pretty unexciting game in general. - The Quest for El Dorado This one is basically a better Clank!. The board looks great and generates excitement with the race aspect. Still a bit lacking in interaction. Not quite sure why I sold this one.  - Azul Too abstract, could use much more interaction. - Flamme Rouge Pleasant game, but would like more meat on the bones. Games I'm looking at now: Blue Lagoon - not in stock anywhere near me. The Godfather - also not in stock. Brew - looks nice, but some people claim it outstays its welcome with more than 2 players. Parks - also nice looking, but maybe not so much interaction? Modern Art - seems to require the right crowd? Blood Rage and Inis also seemed like possible matches, but a friend already has these. uncle blog fucked around with this message at 10:37 on Jan 18, 2023 |
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Jan 18, 2023 10:32
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Quantum or Tash-Kalar are my go-to games for that.
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Jan 18, 2023 10:46
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uncle blog posted:So what I'm ideally looking for is a game that supports 2-4 players, not co-op or hidden movement, plays comfortably under two hours, is easy to teach yet interesting enough for more experienced players, has an okay theme and has a lot of player interaction. Bonus points if we have a shared space/board we all interact with or affect in some way. This might be a big ask. That depends on what you mean by interaction. Do you need direct antagonism, or is blocking or stealing opportunities enough? Either way, Via Nebula might fit the bill. It's a resource shuttling game with forced cooperation that plays with four in around an hour.
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Jan 18, 2023 10:52
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uncle blog posted:- Flamme Rouge Heat : Pedal to the Metal is basically Flamme Rouge ++ , its really good and if you like the mechanics of Flamme Rouge then it should be a good fit. I'm also going to suggest Isle of Skye , solo boards but the bidding/auction section at the start of each round feels good and plenty of opportunity to gently caress with people. Because it's back on BGA and it reminded me, Photosynthesis is a surprisingly mean game about growing trees, a lot of folk didn't like it because they never played with the light blocking rules which is over half the game, if you do play with all the rules it's good. Aramoro fucked around with this message at 11:03 on Jan 18, 2023 |
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Jan 18, 2023 10:58
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uncle blog posted:I'm looking to fill a missing "slot" in my collection. Most of my games tend to either be party games, very short fillers or on the complete other end, like massive 4x's and other games that are hard to learn and take a minimum of two hours to play. A gateway+ kind of game is what I'm missing. That's less of a tough as than you might think. The issue is a fair number of light-ish-mid games can be pretty light on theme or can be multiplayer solitaire. (Wingspan being a popular example with a nice yet light and lightly-applied theme and fairly low interaction.) Concordia is tangentially similar to TTR in that it is sort of a route building game, has a pretty mild theme and light interaction, but it's absolutely terrific. First play will be 2+ hours but after that it will come down. If you want a meatier Flamme Rouge replacement, look into Heat: Pedal to the Medal which shares some DNA and is from the same designers, but more complicated. A recent game, still very hot right now. The thread hasn't been suggesting Inis lately, but that is only because it's been out of print. I saw some copies in the wild so maybe it's finally back. I have not played it, so I don't know if it can actually play under 2 hours. 2 Hours with lots of player interaction and theme would otherwise scream Root but there are two caveats. First, it's heavier than anything else here so it might run over 2 hours for a while until you really get the rules down pat. Second, you probably would want expansions if you're going to play at 4 because the Vagabond (one of the 4 asymmetric factions in the base box) is very polarizing and fairly unpopular. However, if you enjoy it, it's a heck of a game. The King is Dead, 2E is lighter than most of these games. It's simple, and only works with two teams of 2, but it's got the central board and interaction, but boiled down and concentrated. I'm sure there are others, but that is what I can think of right now.
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Jan 18, 2023 11:14
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Magnetic North posted:The thread hasn't been suggesting Inis lately, but that is only because it's been out of print. I saw some copies in the wild so maybe it's finally back. I have not played it, so I don't know if it can actually play under 2 hours. I'm always on board to suggest Inis, I would say it's really great at 3 players and can play under 2 hours IF everyone knows what's up and you don't get folk wracked by indecision.
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Jan 18, 2023 11:21
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I'd suggest checking Brian Boru: High King of Ireland. It's an area control game that is played as a trick-taker. Plays quite quick and has different goals players can pursue. It's from the same designer as The King is Dead 2nd edition. I've played both, but liked Boru more.
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Jan 18, 2023 11:33
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uncle blog posted:I'm looking to fill a missing "slot" in my collection. Most of my games tend to either be party games, very short fillers or on the complete other end, like massive 4x's and other games that are hard to learn and take a minimum of two hours to play. A gateway+ kind of game is what I'm missing. Troyes: The theme isn't most peoples idea of exciting but the late Medieval manuscript style artwork is absolutely beautiful Plays well at all supported player counts and doesn't take too long Relatively simple rules (although exactly how some of the professions work can be a little tricky to understand) Constant player interaction through dice stealing / purchasing, but the player losing dice always gets rewarded with money. The cathedral and "offices" give a shared space every player wants to interact with, with plenty of blocking of other players etc By the sound of it, it might be a bit too "brown Euro game" in theme or a bit rules-heavier than you'd like, but it sounds like a great fit if those aren't dealbreakers. If it wasn't for the 2 player requirement I would have also recommended Hansa Teutonica which is quickly becoming one of my favourite games, but it also has the crippling issue of requiring you to get people excited about a game where you put cubes on a map and pretend to be a German accountant RabidWeasel fucked around with this message at 11:48 on Jan 18, 2023 |
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Jan 18, 2023 11:42
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Suggestions for 1-2 hour euros with high interaction and a central board space: Ra, Babylonia / Through the Desert, Beyond the Sun, maybe Ankh (play time will speed up as you get used to it), Cryo (a super under appreciated game from last year IMO), Broom Service (fun for Ghibli fans as it’s basically Kiki’s Delivery Service: the game), Chicago Express (this can be as fast as 45 minutes but be warned more mathy people will start to win once they get the gist), Chinatown. Also mentioned above Concordia and Via Nebula are great picks. I can probably think of even more, there’s a lot of good stuff in this space. Imperial 2030 may run a bit long for you but is fantastic as not enough games have a big world map and a take over the world theme (though important to note it’s really about taking over the world with finance rather than armies, even though it LOOKS like the latter. But that’s what makes it amazing and great and thematic) Edit: I’d forgotten above Hansa Teutonica but it’s one of the best short interactive euros there is. I wish someone would retheme it to Merchant of Venus or something because poster above me is right, it’s a really hard sell as it looks so dry but it’s one of the best games there is. Blamestorm fucked around with this message at 11:56 on Jan 18, 2023 |
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Jan 18, 2023 11:52
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I'll also second Babylonia, I forgot about that one as I haven't played it for a while. Only played it at 2, but the map size scales with players so I'd guess it plays at least somewhat similarly with more.
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Jan 18, 2023 12:04
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Hansa tuetonica and Chicago express
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Jan 18, 2023 12:28
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I love Isle of Skye, it's a perennial favorite of ours that has a fun auction phase that's the primary interaction, and is consistently done in 45 minutes. That being said I've never played it at 2 and don't know how that works out. Concordia is another great recommendation, although it will run closer to 90 minutes, and you'll need either the Venus base game or a map pack to make 2 players a good experience. Other options that haven't been mentioned: Caylus or Caylus: 1303 are worker placement with a mechanic that lets you cut off people's activations that everyone has the ability to move around, definitely interactive. Supports 2 players but again I've never played it that way. Libertalia: Winds of Galecrest is a quick play and supports lots of player counts. The 2 player version is much meaner than higher counts but works well if that is acceptable. Any version of Valley of the Kings also has interaction with the market pyramid, and some sets have more direct interaction with cards. I think it plays best at 2, but still well at 3-4.
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Jan 18, 2023 13:30
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Is Small World out of fashion these days? That’s a game I’m comfortable throwing down in front of anyone that’s a little heavier than something like Sushi Go but can be wrapped in under two hours. The components do a pretty good job of communicating the rules (with the aid of a quick reference sheet) and the deterministic combat makes resolving conflicts quick and painless. Plus, the ability to abandon a civilization and begin a new one gives players a bit of an ejector seat when they’re losing, and there’s naturally something to have a laugh over with the randomized combinations of races and traits.
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Jan 18, 2023 14:12
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I simply despise the game, myself. Convince people to attack someone else, the game.
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Jan 18, 2023 14:17
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silvergoose posted:I simply despise the game, myself. Convince people to attack someone else, the game. Same, but my kids love it.
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Jan 18, 2023 14:21
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I feel like everyone is overthinking it. The answer is Carcassonne (+1 or 2 expansions). I guess it depends on your definition of interaction.
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Jan 18, 2023 15:47
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Jedit posted:That depends on what you mean by interaction. Do you need direct antagonism, or is blocking or stealing opportunities enough? Preferably the first kind. But other ways can be fun too if they feel impactful or meaningful. Thanks for all the suggestions! I should've added that I would want it to have some visual flair to impress new players, so some of the suggestions might be a bit too beige for that task. Root is a game I already have, and we usually get through it in under two hours. Yet I feel the complexity of rules, faction knowledge and potential established metagame make it a hard sell for newer players. So far I'm gonna check my LFGS for Quantom, Libertalia, The King is Dead or Babylonia. Heat also looks like a great game, but the price and enormous box size seems like a big ask for the kind of game I'm looking for. Shelf space is at a premium these days.
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Jan 18, 2023 15:55
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Just play Talisman with all the corner expansions and the grim reaper, how could you possibly need more game than that?
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Jan 18, 2023 16:00
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Quote-Unquote posted:Just play Talisman with all the corner expansions and the grim reaper, how could you possibly need more game than that? Start saving up cereal boxes.
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Jan 18, 2023 16:05
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After hearing good things about it I played Parks a couple times for the first time this weekend. The packaging/production is great (I'm always happy when a game deals with storing its own pieces) but I wasn't grabbed by it; I was making decisions, but it didn't feel like there was much strategy going on beyond selecting gear cards (which you don't do a ton of or have a ton of options for). Do the expansions make a big difference or is it maybe just not for me?
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Jan 18, 2023 16:06
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The Eyes Have It posted:I'd like to thank DHL for accepting $65 (plus $26 for duties, taxes, customs fees) to deliver me Horseless Carriage shipped in the raw with zero packing material whatsoever, and a big thank you to Customs for pulling it Aren't you in Canada? Why didn't you just get it from BGB or 401 or wherever else and get free shipping too? Anything that ships via DHL is a recipe for PAIN and it drives me insane when I see someone use them as they are the absolute worst and guarantee extra fees. I am on the fence with Horseless Carriage because I have no time lately and it's shaping up to be a FOMO dust-gatherer hedging against Splotter not printing it again for another fifteen years. Did you pick it up because you have researched it and think it's dope? Basically convince me to drop $175 on this beast. uncle blog posted:- Azul Azul has a ton of interaction in my opinion. Picking the tiles at the start and playing some games of chicken with letting certain types pile up or not or allowing your opponent to try and make your turns more efficient or deliberately leaving them with a ton of garbage they cannot use and thus lots negatives... Great great game.
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Jan 18, 2023 16:50
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Azul is a very different game at 2 or 3 players vs. 4, is the thing. With two players it's absolutely a knife fight of denying your opponent what they need, but with 4 your ability to interact and plan ahead is more limited given how much the board state can change between each of your turns. I love Azul (specifically the first one), it's one of my all time favorite games for how simple it is to set up and teach - but there's a lot of mindgames there if you're able to lean into them.
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Jan 18, 2023 16:58
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Wallet posted:After hearing good things about it I played Parks a couple times for the first time this weekend. The packaging/production is great (I'm always happy when a game deals with storing its own pieces) but I wasn't grabbed by it; I was making decisions, but it didn't feel like there was much strategy going on beyond selecting gear cards (which you don't do a ton of or have a ton of options for). Do the expansions make a big difference or is it maybe just not for me? There's definitely tactical play in Parks. I wouldn't characterize it as strategic play because the tableau state can change in an instant if someone reserves the park you were shooting for. The basic challenge is this: you should probably be getting two 3 pt. parks each season on average. How can you do better than that? You can get two 4-5 point parks, you can get 3+ parks, you can get parks that give you year card bonuses, you can take photos, etc. To do this, you need to build up a reserve of tokens, good canteens, 'substitution gear' (play Sun/water for forest/mountain or ignore 1 forest/mountain), and reserve or visit the right parks when they're available, especially flash parks that give you bonus resources that you need for your next step -- or at least to replenish your resources. I recommend that everyone play with the rules from Nightfall and Wildlife, even if you don't have these expansions:
The expansions do make a difference but don't radically change the game from top to bottom. But, to be honest, it's not an especially deep game. It's a chill game where you relax and look at the pretty art and try to figure out how you can get one more water token so you can have the four you need to visit Dry Tortugas, or if you're like me, hope that Wind Cave or Carlsbad Caverns come up so you can say, "I've been there," knowing full well this sends your wife into a spasm of jealousy as she hasn't.
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Jan 18, 2023 17:36
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FulsomFrank posted:Aren't you in Canada? Why didn't you just get it from BGB or 401 or wherever else and get free shipping too? Anything that ships via DHL is a recipe for PAIN and it drives me insane when I see someone use them as they are the absolute worst and guarantee extra fees. Well, that's because I'm a huge fan/sucker so a year or so ago when they offered it for (pre)sale I mashed the BUY button as soon as my finger worked  The rulebook leaves me with questions, it's not as utterly clear as some of their other games, but I like what I see. There's real "enough rope to hang yourself" elements to the factory floor spatial puzzle, and the selling to the evolving markets has me deeply curious about how it changes the rest of the game. FYI there's no "mechanical" reason the game needs three players minimum, but the gameplay does -- the interactions really do need more than two to compound effectively. Sadly the earliest prints have some wrong color tokens. Being first out the foxhole has its risks in more ways than one.
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Jan 18, 2023 19:38
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Elysium posted:I feel like everyone is overthinking it. Carcassonne Big Box is certainly close to perfect for dozens of plays with introducing little bits of extra content etc. At 2 players who aren't afraid of interaction, it can be very ruthless and satisfying. It was my and my wife's most played game last year (almost 50 plays) and it's still one of our most competition inspiring 2players
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Jan 18, 2023 19:47
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Mr. Squishy posted:Start saving up cereal boxes. yeah now that Rutibex is gone we need a new cereal box Talisman guy
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Jan 18, 2023 19:48
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The Eyes Have It posted:Well, that's because I'm a huge fan/sucker so a year or so ago when they offered it for (pre)sale I mashed the BUY button as soon as my finger worked Painful. Would the ones in store have the same printing issues you think or is this a matter of harassing the hard working folks at my FLGS and checking serial numbers 
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Jan 18, 2023 20:41
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uncle blog posted:So what I'm ideally looking for is a game that supports 2-4 players, not co-op or hidden movement, plays comfortably under two hours, is easy to teach yet interesting enough for more experienced players, has an okay theme and has a lot of player interaction. Bonus points if we have a shared space/board we all interact with or affect in some way. This might be a big ask. Taluva might be a good fit for you. I've only managed to get it to the table a couple of times, but it's been fun so far, and hits all of these points imo.
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Jan 18, 2023 22:01
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I've been playing a lot of Arkham Horror 3rd Edition recently (my mate is slightly obsessed with it I think) and honestly, I still prefer Eldritch Horror. I don't mind the AH LCG either but for me, EH is where it's at.
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Jan 18, 2023 22:09
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