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I've been playing and enjoying Village Rails and would recommend it. Very fun little puzzle about laying rails, giving them scoring conditions and maximizing their profit once they are complete. It's less stressful than Sprawlopolis but the decisions feel more meaningful than in Railroad Ink. The game only lasts 12 rounds, but you have to really think about every card you put on your board and when to finish a line to get more money. I have only played it with 2 players, but it can be played with up to 4.
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Jun 7, 2023 08:08
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Got to play Fast Sloths with the new maps for the first time last night. I didn't win, so they're good, but I was only one turn behind. Followed up with Iquazu for the first time in years. Really tight game, I edged it by 1 point and was only 3 points ahead of last place. I could have lost, but second place admitted to miscalculating the final turn and it cost him a bonus. Both games were well enjoyed, which is the important part.
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Jun 7, 2023 08:45
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SuperKlaus posted:I played Iki, a Kennerspiel 2023 nominee despite technically being a years-old game, and tentatively think it's pretty good. I can't shake the feeling that with the benefit given every time your pawn makes a complete loop of the board and the role of other players filling board spaces with shops that (may) benefit them when landed upon that it's like someone took the very core of Monopoly mechanics and made something competent out of it. I particularly enjoyed the aspects of player interaction where you could try to hide your employees behind other players who had bought protection against fire, or use careful timing of stopping at someone's shop to send that employee off the board, admittedly benefiting the owner but perhaps also screwing up someone's plan to shop there or use the employee as a fire shield. I've only played the modernized reprint so I don't know how good the old Iki was but I actually really like it. I went in thinking it would be your typical point salad game, and in a way it is, but everything just works together quite well. Knowing which shopkeeper should go where to increase your profits is a great puzzle made even better by the fire fighting mechanic. It's just a very solid and, as you said, competent game. edit : also the production is great, I really like the illustrations Eraflure fucked around with this message at 12:13 on Jun 7, 2023 |
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Jun 7, 2023 11:44
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Played a 3P game of 1882 last night and we went from start to finish in ~3hrs. Very pleased with that time frame. I don't love it at 3 because it feels less interactive and I'm not watching the certificate counts of other players as much but it was still a fun time. Another thing is that maybe it's group think but at 3 people need to be starting multiple companies frequently to keep things moving and I think we were slower than normal with that. We were close to bankrupting a player but he was able to sell down and avoid it but with slightly more ruthless playing I think we could have turned the screws and for sure ended it for him.
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Jun 7, 2023 13:11
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Someone in my local group got some sort of deluxe edition of Iki and the pkayer mats have a large kanji prominently featured in the back, like red has 赤, blue has 青, etc and he sent me a picture asking hey do these mean something, are they some sort of clan crest and he was a bit disappointed to learn it was literally just the kanji for the player color on the mat lol
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Jun 7, 2023 14:39
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Carillon posted:So trip report on EU: The Price of Power. We basically got through one age starting at 9 and going until about 4. Things did pick up after 12 or so once through one we had a better, though still not super fast. There a lot going on, and a lot of actions have three or four different knock on effects that require you to read through the rules and sometimes make judgement calls on it. It also felt like some powers were off. In a corner, able to expand without much in the way of the other players being about to do much,mainly Spain. Where as France had to fight other player powers pretty quickly to hit their mission goals. Lastly the cards really affected what you get to do. Our England player saw 6-7 subjugate cards despite having no allies, whereas I was the Austrians saw none even through I had a number of alliances and influence ready to go. Bring stuck with an expensive and useless hand feels bad when the other players are upgrading their small cities or researching tech for cheap. I don't know how you really distill the EU video games back into a board game, this felt like it tries, but includes too much complexity and the cards really limit your actions if you don't get what you need. Yeah, the game hinging on certain action cards is my main critique of EU, in fact the action deck in general just isn't right, I think. The basic mechanic that even allows the game to work regardless of the deck is that you can pick up your draws from change focus off the discard piles, but even then, it's so much better when you draw the good action cards naturally. I enjoy most of the rest of the game, but the action card deck needs to be completely revamped to be more universally useful, whatever the game state- there's a lot of garbage or super situational stuff in the deck.
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Jun 7, 2023 15:38
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I used Wingspan alongside Ticket to Ride as an example because both games are Fine. They're Fine. I'd never get all  about someone wanting to play, cuz they ain't Monopoly. But they aren't Good because both have dead simple and repetitive optimal paths to victory. So being a Kennerspiel game doesn't mean something is Good, and while I liked Iki on the first pass, I am curious whether it holds up to repeated plays.
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Jun 7, 2023 17:11
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I feel like there's such a wide gulf between creative theming and creative design. I realize that's a very banal take and is probably easy to poke holes in, but this latest game listed on BGG sounds almost like a parody of our times, "Retrace Darwin’s journey to the Galapagos in a worker-placement adventure". I know this phenomenon has been remarked upon endlessly in this thread, but looking through "the hotness" on BGG is such an illustrative way of seeing this trend.
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Jun 7, 2023 17:52
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Jewmanji posted:I feel like there's such a wide gulf between creative theming and creative design. I realize that's a very banal take and is probably easy to poke holes in, but this latest game listed on BGG sounds almost like a parody of our times, "Retrace Darwin’s journey to the Galapagos in a worker-placement adventure". I know this phenomenon has been remarked upon endlessly in this thread, but looking through "the hotness" on BGG is such an illustrative way of seeing this trend. There is a weird tilt towards... I dunno, "atypical cerebral historical" themeing? Like, Lacrimosa and Darwin's Journey and Encyclopedia are all super weird but not in that fun way that Bus is weird.
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Jun 7, 2023 19:22
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Magnetic North posted:There is a weird tilt towards... I dunno, "atypical cerebral historical" themeing? Like, Lacrimosa and Darwin's Journey and Encyclopedia are all super weird but not in that fun way that Bus is weird. I guess coming up with a theme is way more fun/engaging than dealing with the much more difficult design decisions. Similar to authors who pour all of their time into "world-building" at the expense of a story. I just wish the grammar of board games would start expanding beyond the usual categories that we are all familiar with. The incremental improvements on well-worn designs (Ark Nova) isn't really a sustainable trend if games are this expensive, and the value prop becomes less and less as these games lose their novelty.
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Jun 7, 2023 19:39
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Iki looks fun. I don’t usually like point salad euro style games but I am a sucker for Edo period history and the idea of someone fixing Monopoly appeals to me (always wanted to play Lords of Vegas for a similar reason.)
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Jun 7, 2023 20:04
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Jewmanji posted:I guess coming up with a theme is way more fun/engaging than dealing with the much more difficult design decisions. Similar to authors who pour all of their time into "world-building" at the expense of a story. I just wish the grammar of board games would start expanding beyond the usual categories that we are all familiar with. The incremental improvements on well-worn designs (Ark Nova) isn't really a sustainable trend if games are this expensive, and the value prop becomes less and less as these games lose their novelty. Those changes happen but they are quite rare. Deckbuilding in 2008, Legacy games in 2015, even the tilt into single-use-puzzlers like Unlock and Exit of 16-17. When they do hit, they have a huge impact. You could charitably say that Wingspan was the catalyst of the 'Cozy Game' or 'Very Nice Looking Nature Game' though those are not quite the same seizemic shift. It's possible we're in something of a valley in that innovation: I did some very cursory looking and as far as I can tell, some of the biggest games in the last 5 years are: Brass, Root, Wingspan, The Crew, Arnak / Dune Imperium, Sleeping Gods, Cascadia, Ark Nova, Carnegie, Scout, Heat. It could be argued the most innovative among them are the light games: The Crew and Scout. Maybe that is where the innovation is actually happening?
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Jun 7, 2023 20:13
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I enjoyed the one play of Iki, but not enough to start insisting the owner brings it out again. This is my impression of most boardgames I know. I'm all in favour of innovative and interesting themes, even if they are attached to unexciting games. Because otherwise those boring games will also have boring themes too!
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Jun 7, 2023 20:24
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Magnetic North posted:It's possible we're in something of a valley in that innovation: I did some very cursory looking and as far as I can tell, some of the biggest games in the last 5 years are: Brass Brass is from 2007.
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Jun 7, 2023 20:39
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Brass Brum ain't!
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Jun 7, 2023 20:43
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Jedit posted:Brass is from 2007. You know which one I meant. The one from 2018. The one that is #1 on BGG. The one that's constantly out of stock. Also, that doesn't counter the point that perhaps the hot games in the last 5 years might not be as innovative as previous periods, if one wanted to make that claim, since this is just an improvement (or adjustment if you're a Lancashire stan) on a previous game.
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Jun 7, 2023 20:46
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What's the verdict on Adrenaline? The idea of an arena shooter board game intrigues me, and my birthday is coming up...
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Jun 7, 2023 21:15
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more of a "neat that it works!" than a "i love this" type game
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Jun 7, 2023 21:45
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While I'm gonna guess that everyone who's interested in watching a 2 hour review of Frosthaven has already watched this, I highly recommend everyone watch the first few minutes of Shelfside's video. They actually finished the campaign before reviewing it - and it may be like a top 5 all time video of this type. https://youtu.be/OLib0agBX6s But yeah. First few minutes. Excellent for anyone.
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Jun 8, 2023 04:07
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Anonymous Robot posted:Iki looks fun. I don’t usually like point salad euro style games but I am a sucker for Edo period history and the idea of someone fixing Monopoly appeals to me (always wanted to play Lords of Vegas for a similar reason.) I will note that I felt the theme/mechanics alignment was a weaker point of the game. Just to take one funny point I noticed: the fire mechanic cleans out characters placed in stalls. You can invest your characters in buildings instead of stalls. So, investing heavily in buildings...makes your game plan fire-resistant.
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Jun 8, 2023 04:09
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Fast Food Franchise is another good Monopoly+ game.
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Jun 8, 2023 05:29
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Drinkslinger posted:What's the verdict on Adrenaline? The idea of an arena shooter board game intrigues me, and my birthday is coming up... Awful. Thematically it's a free wheeling arena shooter but in practice it's dull as dirt and just a slap the leader game
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Jun 8, 2023 08:14
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Does anyone have a favorite FLGS in the Seattle area? I'll be there this week and I'm hoping to pick up a copy of Railroad Ink for the flight back home. Magnetic North, would it be worth compiling a short list of favorite FLGSs across the country for the OP?
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Jun 8, 2023 15:29
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Meeples in West Seattle (it's part of Seattle proper, just across the bridge) has a pretty good supply of some more arcane games. E.g., I found a copy of Tinner's Trail there once, and I can't imagine that was a top seller. Might be worth a call to see if they have it. Now, in terms of places to play in West Seattle, Meeples is good, but the Missing Piece is fantastic -- bright, open, airy space with lots of nice tables, welcoming atmosphere, and an unofficial no minis rule; they all go to Meeples (not all minis players are problems of course, but most problem players I see are mini players -- not that it seems to be a problem at Meeples either).
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Jun 8, 2023 15:38
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SuperKlaus posted:I will note that I felt the theme/mechanics alignment was a weaker point of the game. Just to take one funny point I noticed: the fire mechanic cleans out characters placed in stalls. You can invest your characters in buildings instead of stalls. So, investing heavily in buildings...makes your game plan fire-resistant. The most recent English-language edition of Iki doesn't have the best rulebook I've ever seen, so I can see where it could cause some confusion; the section about resolving fires refers to "characters," which could make it sound as though only characters are affected by fires. A couple pages later, though, where the rules talk about buildings, they specify that buildings are played to open spaces on the board and can be destroyed by fire. So in this case, at least, I feel like the mechanics and theme do align fairly well; buildings potentially provide you with a useful ongoing benefit or big points at the end of the game, but are more costly than characters (and require an action to build), so investing in one means that fires can be much more costly than they would be if you were just hiring cheap characters to place in the market stalls.
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Jun 8, 2023 15:49
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Jewmanji posted:Does anyone have a favorite FLGS in the Seattle area? I'll be there this week and I'm hoping to pick up a copy of Railroad Ink for the flight back home. Magnetic North, would it be worth compiling a short list of favorite FLGSs across the country for the OP? Mox in Ballard and Bellevue are both good. They also both have restaurants and a game lending library, so if you wanted to play a game and eat a meal they’re setup for that.
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Jun 8, 2023 15:54
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Chainclaw posted:Mox in Ballard and Bellevue are both good. They also both have restaurants and a game lending library, so if you wanted to play a game and eat a meal they’re setup for that. That's where I'd go when I lived in Seattle
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Jun 8, 2023 17:25
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SuperKlaus posted:I played Iki, a Kennerspiel 2023 nominee despite technically being a years-old game, and tentatively think it's pretty good. I can't shake the feeling that with the benefit given every time your pawn makes a complete loop of the board and the role of other players filling board spaces with shops that (may) benefit them when landed upon that it's like someone took the very core of Monopoly mechanics and made something competent out of it. I particularly enjoyed the aspects of player interaction where you could try to hide your employees behind other players who had bought protection against fire, or use careful timing of stopping at someone's shop to send that employee off the board, admittedly benefiting the owner but perhaps also screwing up someone's plan to shop there or use the employee as a fire shield. That's what I was wondering too. I looked at this years ago and lamented the fact that I didn't get in when the original KS happened as that one came with wooden dolls. I got really excited when Rahdo reviewed it, but along the years realized my tastes probably don't align with it. Modern monopoly is an apt description. Drinkslinger posted:What's the verdict on Adrenaline? The idea of an arena shooter board game intrigues me, and my birthday is coming up... It's good. The way point scoring happens means that you don't just fragged over and over as a pincushion if you're losing. But otherwise solid action point system and enjoy when my friend brings it around.
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Jun 8, 2023 17:28
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If the Seattle Moxes are anything like the Portland one (I assume they are), incredibly strong recommend.
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Jun 8, 2023 18:07
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CitizenKeen posted:If the Seattle Moxes are anything like the Portland one (I assume they are), incredibly strong recommend. Portland Mox is an expansion of the Seattle Mox, so yeah.
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Jun 8, 2023 18:15
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Admiralty Flag posted:Now, in terms of places to play in West Seattle, Meeples is good, but the Missing Piece is fantastic -- bright, open, airy space with lots of nice tables, welcoming atmosphere, and an unofficial no minis rule; they all go to Meeples (not all minis players are problems of course, but most problem players I see are mini players -- not that it seems to be a problem at Meeples either). Holy crap I didn't even know The Missing Piece existed! It's actually way closer to my house than Meeples!!
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Jun 8, 2023 18:17
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Chill la Chill posted:It's good. The way point scoring happens means that you don't just fragged over and over as a pincushion if you're losing. But otherwise solid action point system and enjoy when my friend brings it around. A friend of mine who normally hates confrontational games and would go up both wrists with a knife before he played an FPS bought Adrenaline. He said that after trying it he realised that it wasn't really a conflict game at all; it was an area control game where the area was the other players.
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Jun 8, 2023 18:47
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Portland also got Guardian Games but you need to shield your eyes as you walk through, lest you be exposed to warhammer nerds
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Jun 8, 2023 18:59
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PRADA SLUT posted:Portland also got Guardian Games but you need to shield your eyes as you walk through, lest you be exposed to warhammer nerds I mourn the old Guardian Games which had about twice the stock of boardgames. The post-COVID GG is still one of the best game stores in the PNW but the chance of finding out-of-print gems there has gone down dramatically.
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Jun 8, 2023 20:36
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MrChris posted:The most recent English-language edition of Iki doesn't have the best rulebook I've ever seen, so I can see where it could cause some confusion; the section about resolving fires refers to "characters," which could make it sound as though only characters are affected by fires. A couple pages later, though, where the rules talk about buildings, they specify that buildings are played to open spaces on the board and can be destroyed by fire. So in this case, at least, I feel like the mechanics and theme do align fairly well; buildings potentially provide you with a useful ongoing benefit or big points at the end of the game, but are more costly than characters (and require an action to build), so investing in one means that fires can be much more costly than they would be if you were just hiring cheap characters to place in the market stalls. Ah! I may have been taught incorrectly then! Interesting...would the building just be clogging that stall forever, then, reducing the options for shoppers there?
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Jun 8, 2023 20:42
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Some Numbers posted:Holy crap I didn't even know The Missing Piece existed! It's actually way closer to my house than Meeples!!
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Jun 8, 2023 22:14
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Memnaelar posted:I mourn the old Guardian Games which had about twice the stock of boardgames. The post-COVID GG is still one of the best game stores in the PNW but the chance of finding out-of-print gems there has gone down dramatically. I think that started dropping off well before Covid. They were already getting way more aggressive about pruning back in 2019. Probably when they joined up with Rainy Day Games.
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Jun 8, 2023 23:40
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Admiralty Flag posted:The Seattle Board Games Meetup group has events there fairly often (though I don't think for the next couple of weeks, because the main West Seattle organizer's out of town) plus the store's website advertises in-house events (e.g., co-op games night, etc.). I might start showing up on Mondays for random CCG night
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Jun 9, 2023 04:15
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Jewmanji posted:Does anyone have a favorite FLGS in the Seattle area? I'll be there this week and I'm hoping to pick up a copy of Railroad Ink for the flight back home. Magnetic North, would it be worth compiling a short list of favorite FLGSs across the country for the OP? I dunno, the world is very big and that will only serve a very small number. I'm trying to keep everything in it as useful to as many as possible. It's probably better served asked as a direct individual question in the thread.
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Jun 9, 2023 10:15
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| # ? Jun 6, 2024 08:33 |
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Can the train enthusiasts weigh in with their thoughts on 1870 and whether there's a point of adding it to my already groaning shelf of other 18xx's? I'm seeing it mentioned fairly frequently but most of these conversations are from years ago so tough to gauge if it's one of those titles that have been supplanted by one or two of the other hundred.
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Jun 9, 2023 14:10
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