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Played War of the Ring: The Card Game at 4 players. I can't speak to the balance of the game, its tightness or strategic quality after one play. I can say that I like the art, systems, and card layouts. I like the strategy I could suss out. But most importantly I really love how thematic it is, I think it's an absolute homerun in terms of theme and how the systems assist the theme. Very cool game. The owner tells me it's swingy but it sounds like a skill issue. I want to jump into this one again.
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Sep 27, 2023 16:46
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FulsomFrank posted:Root is fragile as poo poo and you definitely feel it when one player isn't picking up the slack. It's one of the reasons I don't like it a lot and as someone who is part of the problem I'm confident in explaining that: I think that’s also why a lot of more interactive games include a mechanism for controlling player order. At least there the advantage of playing after the weakest player is not entirely down to seating position.
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Sep 27, 2023 17:02
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Root sings as a game with players who are a) on board/experienced gamers, and b) discovering/learning at about the same rate.
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Sep 27, 2023 17:19
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Harold Fjord posted:We had a lot of "oh, I did that wrong so everyone else can do it wrong once too" when I was teaching Tiny Epic Galaxies but I don't think my group would tolerate that with anything heavier. I'm a big recent convert to Tiny Epic Galaxies. The Beyond the Black expansion was fun to learn too, but I think it overcomplicates things. I lucked out and nabbed a cheap AF copy from CoolStuff as they were closing up shop. I'm also a big believer in "we got this rule wrong - let's continue to get it wrong this game, and fix it next time"
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Sep 27, 2023 18:22
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Me and my friends are usually pretty good about rules goof ups, but the biggest one I can think of is when we pulled out a copy of Glass Road at a board game cafe and due to a misreading of what a round (or something similar) was, played a game that was like four times longer than it actually is supposed to be.
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Sep 27, 2023 18:31
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Unless the rule mistake really upends the game my group will usually go with "just do it right starting next turn".
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Sep 27, 2023 18:35
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I remember I was tired during a convention and only half-paid attention to (I think) Libris and ended up playing a completely different scoring system from the other people on the table but nobody realised and I only worked it out when the final scores were totaled.
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Sep 27, 2023 19:09
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PerniciousKnid posted:Just keep the tile pile far enough from her so she has to be obvious about switching. You could also "upgrade your game" with a crown royal bag and have people pull tiles out of the bag at the end of their turn before passing the bag along. It's fun, makes it super fast to start the game (just shake and rummage the tiles in the bag a bit), and you get to watch her try to sneak a tile out of a bag you "absent-mindedly" cinched shut when it was passed to you.
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Sep 27, 2023 22:05
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PlaneGuy posted:You could also "upgrade your game" with a crown royal bag and have people pull tiles out of the bag at the end of their turn before passing the bag along. It's fun, makes it super fast to start the game (just shake and rummage the tiles in the bag a bit), and you get to watch her try to sneak a tile out of a bag you "absent-mindedly" cinched shut when it was passed to you. If you don't have easy access to a Crown Royal bag or one is too small for a given game, a shoe bag will work just fine. (First result I saw on Amazon that fits: https://www.amazon.com/Flannel-Stor...1zcF9hdGY&psc=1)
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Sep 27, 2023 22:13
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I'd let my mom cheat at Carcassonne; I'll hold viciously preventing cities from closing for my boardgaming friends. 
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Sep 27, 2023 22:17
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The Eyes Have It posted:...Game with players who are a) on board/experienced gamers, and b) discovering/learning at about the same rate. The dream... I love everyone sitting down and being able to learn a game together that has a ton of levers to pull and people all figuring out what does what and the knock-on effects. Only problem is when one person (usually me) has their head in the rulebook for most of the game and is more or less acting as an AI player on "easy".
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Sep 28, 2023 13:59
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When teaching a game I find I can rarely really focus on my own play. I'm happy to just move the game along without having to hold up for rules, and no mistakes/blunders on my part.
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Sep 28, 2023 17:00
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ime you can play to teach or play to win but you can’t do both
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Sep 28, 2023 17:10
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I've lost so, so many games because I was teaching not one but two different games, while playing one of them, and trying not to hold up my game in the process. I still have fun
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Sep 28, 2023 17:16
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Holy poo poo yes if I'm teaching a game I become wholly consumed by how it is running and if rules are being absorbed. Very little mental space left for me to actually play my own game.
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Sep 28, 2023 17:21
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if people beat you in a game you are teaching it is the ultimate humiliation. your best bet is to forget to explain scoring until the end
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Sep 28, 2023 17:23
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People beating beating you at a game you taught is good actually because it means you’re a good teacher is what I tell myself so I can sleep at night
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Sep 28, 2023 17:32
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I teach Brass:Birmingham a fair amount, and the way it usually works is we have between 9-12 people show up at our meetup to play with 1-3 of them haven't played before (or only a couple of times a while ago), who've maybe have watched the "Learn to Play" video. I usually volunteer to take the newbie table because I'm willing to teach and I think I'm better at it than the others who are willing. I always get into a weird decision space, though. I'm supposed to be modeling good play in addition to correct play, right? But with a table of newbies (or people who've played it 1-2 times before) I can mop the floor with them. So what I try to do is demonstrate key play concepts ("I'm developing away my level 1 breweries, so I can build level 2 breweries to get presence automatically in the rail era"), definitely demonstrate the power of a double rail build, and show how the scout action works in practice. In between, I'll usually pursue a suboptimal approach like cotton in a 4P game so the points don't get run up too far. (If the merchant tiles favor quick cotton then I'll go boxes.) It's just a weird tug-of-war. I'm not playing to lose, because I want to model good play, but also let them know when I'm not playing optimally, yet not sound like a jerk when I do that. ("Usually cotton is tough to play in a 4P game, but I have a new twist on it I want to try, so I'm going to run it this game," is my usual line.) And of course I pour out advice when asked about moves, and sometimes when not specifically asked (e.g., when someone's trying to place their last link for points to save time).
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Sep 28, 2023 17:48
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Voidfall arrived with 5 pages of iconography
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Sep 28, 2023 19:03
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I tend to graciously lose a game when I am teaching the rules to someone. After congratulating the winner on their good play, I offer a rematch, maybe with a friendly wager to keep it interesting.
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Sep 28, 2023 19:06
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losing excusemakers itt out of respect for my opponents, we will grind each other to dust, first play be damned. Because nothing disrespects the player more than effectively staring out going “yeah I’m just going to throw so you win because you suck and don’t know how to play and don’t have the capability to learn/adapt on the fly”. lol gently caress outta here with that. if you’re afraid someone is going to feel bad if they lose, pick a co op instead. or something where everyone loses spectacularly, like galaxy trucker. even if you bamboozle them into thinking they won the first game “legitimately”, you create a feedback loop where they got rewarded for uncontested play and then when you play “for real”, you either throw again or completely clown on them, which signals you could have done so originally but threw instead. They’re also more likely to stick to some like of play that worked last time, even if it was mediocre, which limits improvement and game understanding if you’re playing with someone “good”, you can go as normal the first game. If you’re playing with someone “bad”, you disrespect them by assuming they’re not good/smart/etc enough to understand how to develop gameplay understanding unless you let them win. Shameful Fate Accomplice posted:Voidfall arrived with 5 pages of iconography behold, a mindclash game
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Sep 28, 2023 20:02
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I just tend to lose teaching games because I'm not really focused on playing optimally, I'm focused on ensuring that people learn the game and have a good time. That way when we play again I don't have to teach it again for one thing, and I have skilled opponents so the game is engaging. That said I have a few gaming friends who will reliably watch rules videos in advance and come ready to play with no teach required. In those cases then yeah we all try to grind each other to dust.
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Sep 28, 2023 20:14
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I like to use teaching games as an opportunity to gently caress around and explore strategy paths I wouldn't want to risk if I was seriously playing to win, which is actually probably a bad idea, because I'm good enough that I will probably win anyhow and now my opponents think that whatever silly batshit stunt I tried out was actually a core strategy.
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Sep 28, 2023 20:26
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PRADA SLUT posted:losing excusemakers itt
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Sep 28, 2023 20:35
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the holy poopacy posted:I like to use teaching games as an opportunity to gently caress around and explore strategy paths I wouldn't want to risk if I was seriously playing to win, which is actually probably a bad idea, because I'm good enough that I will probably win anyhow and now my opponents think that whatever silly batshit stunt I tried out was actually a core strategy. This is what I do. Allows me to still play a “legitimate” game but also in an unfamiliar way. Almost a handicap. Also, if I lose it’s because I got outplayed, not because I just hosed around and threw. So the winner collects a legitimate W either way SettingSun posted:I only teach chess my obviously blundering my queen and both rooks one after the other, dramatically throwing my hands in the air shouting 'you tactical genius!' just lol if you don’t bongcloud every game
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Sep 28, 2023 20:38
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I play normally when I teach, but I hate winning when I do. It feels gross and I feel like a failure as a teacher. Strong "you wanna come over and play Mortal Kombat on my Sega? I'm just going to clown on you for two hours haha loser" vibes.
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Sep 28, 2023 20:50
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I win the first time I play a game I won't want to play again, because I've "finished" it in my head. But also if I win a teaching game I feel like I did something wrong, Lol.
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Sep 28, 2023 20:51
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CitizenKeen posted:I play normally when I teach, but I hate winning when I do. It feels gross and I feel like a failure as a teacher. That is a REAL issue for games that heavily reward experience by focusing on pre-game choices to set up the game state. I used to play Terra Mystica competitively online at snellman and logged over 100 plays. It ruined any possibility of my pulling it out for a casual teach to new players unless I volunteered to take the worst starting faction/player order space. And even then, I'd still likely win. Doesn't feel great.
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Sep 28, 2023 21:01
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I lose when I teach because I’m focused on helping the other players and I lose when I don’t because I’m bad at games
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Sep 28, 2023 21:04
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I don't throttle down when I'm doing teaching games either, and can I be honest when I say that I would rather not play again with people that complain, get angry or get sulky if they don't win (or don't do well) in a game when it's their first play. I will usually just play the game like I usually do, and provide strategy tip if prompted, although I generally prefer to explain strats after the game is done. I think trying too hard to get everyone up to speed is a disservice both to the intelligence of other people, as well as that some people actively enjoy figuring out strats on their own and have the game as a journey of discovery. As long as you aren't smug or condescending about your victory, it's all good.
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Sep 28, 2023 21:07
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Honestly I don't like dunking on people trying to learn a game from me because I have had a very bad experience in that seat myself. Then again I'm like the perfect person to teach games. I know the rules cover to cover but my skill is middling, especially when teaching. A rookie making uninformed decisions in Gaia Project stands a non-zero chance of beating me.
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Sep 28, 2023 21:14
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an actual dog posted:I win the first time I play a game I won't want to play again, because I've "finished" it in my head. But also if I win a teaching game I feel like I did something wrong, Lol. Winning a game is finishing it you say? I think you need an appt. with the Dr: quote:When playing a game, the goal is to win, but it is the goal that is important, not the winning...
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Sep 28, 2023 21:26
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That doesn't contradict what an actual dog said. If the goal is too easy to achieve, then the motivation to keep playing is gone, at least for some people. Knizia's quote actually supports what an actual dog just said.
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Sep 28, 2023 21:40
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thats why collectively first-playing a game with a group of diced-in-the-felt board gamers is such a tasty treat, with bonus points if you don’t have to teach. remember to savour every turn and feel free to go at full power from the jump.
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Sep 28, 2023 21:44
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The trick I've found is if you're doing the teach live at the table is to play a practice round to get the basics, and then reset. Means you get the rules out just enough for players to be able to do their own thing, allowing you to focus on your own initial strategy, cause now you're only answering minor questions
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Sep 28, 2023 21:49
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SettingSun posted:I only teach chess my obviously blundering my queen and both rooks one after the other, dramatically throwing my hands in the air shouting 'you tactical genius!' I was taught San Jaun and the first game the teacher milled the deck looking for specific cards and combos. Was it a fair game? No, not in the slightest. Did I still have fun, yes. If I teach a game, the above secnario is where I'll draw a hard line.
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Sep 28, 2023 22:30
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Tekopo posted:That doesn't contradict what an actual dog said. If the goal is too easy to achieve, then the motivation to keep playing is gone, at least for some people. Knizia's quote actually supports what an actual dog just said. Huh? It was never meant to contradict anything, just diagnose. Assuming a competitive game, if you are so caught up in the binary of winning that you retire a game after having won, then you are overly concerned with winning as an end, not the aspiration along the way. That is exactly the spirit of the quote.
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Sep 28, 2023 23:41
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Pvt. Parts posted:Huh? It was never meant to contradict anything, just diagnose. Assuming a competitive game, if you are so caught up in the binary of winning that you retire a game after having won, then you are overly concerned with winning as an end, not the aspiration along the way. That is exactly the spirit of the quote.
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Sep 28, 2023 23:47
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another feel-good gaming moment: when you’re sitting at the table noodling on your phone while someone else you taught the game to teaches the rest of the players. is this what seeing your child walk for the first time feels like?
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Sep 29, 2023 00:36
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Some games are "the better I play, the less you get to play" and I don't think it makes sense to play those at full contact in a teaching game. But if their preferred way of learning is to be your punching bag then that's cool I guess.
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Sep 29, 2023 00:39
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