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Hempuli posted:Thanks! Shame to hear that Invasion might not be as well-liked, and that an expansion adds stuff that improves the game. Should I go for Trade & Intrigue, is the new board *that* important? It's not the new Beneficial Deeds board, although that is a much better version than the original and encourages use. It's the events that make the difference. Base Orleans has six events and there's three copies of each. This means that if zero or three copies of an event come out early, one of the paths to victory is significantly harmed or helped and everyone knows it. For example, one event gives each player coins (which are also points) equal to their development level. If you're pushing the development strategy then those three events can be worth as much as 18 points or as little as 3 points. That's a 15-point swing in a game where a typical winning score is somewhere between 110 and 130. Also the first event of the game is always a Pilgrimage, which is basically the same as no event because you can't buy a Monk on turn 1 anyway. (It's actually a nudge for first time players to not put their Trader in the Monastery, but that should be obvious anyway.) Trade and Intrigue replaces those events with a new set of 32 events that come in four pools of eight, plus formalising the "no event" on the first and last turns of the game. So in one game you might get the event that recalls all the Merchants to Orleans, but in another you might get the event that penalises any player whose Merchant is still in Orleans at the end of the turn. Nobody knows what is coming up, and none of the events are so savage that any strategy is greatly disadvantaged by them unless you've focused completely on one aspect of the game. My rule for expansions is that if the game needs the expansion to be good, it's not a good game. Orleans is a good game that needs the expansion to be truly great. E: throwing in on the Wingspan debate - I introduced the Wingspan fans in my group to Earth from Inside Up Games. They all liked it, and very much appreciated how you can't just spend time running your engine because if just one person pushes for endgame it will happen. It's a bit longer than the 60-90 minutes given on the box, but we got a five player game with three newbies complete in under two hours from opening the box to closing it. Jedit fucked around with this message at 02:00 on Nov 9, 2023 |
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Nov 9, 2023 01:52
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ooooh poo poo boi mindclash trifecta inc too late for Halloween 
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Nov 9, 2023 04:59
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late for lacerdachat, but weather machine is fine. it's no lisboa.
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Nov 9, 2023 05:11
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Jewmanji posted:There’s too much rules overhead considering how little strategy there is. Honestly that's such a good point, but I think is why some of why folks like it? The complexity of the rules overhead helps coverup the light strategy, so you feel like there's a lot going on even if it's not as complex in terms of choice.
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Nov 9, 2023 05:52
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Carillon posted:you feel like there's a lot going on even if it's not as complex in terms of choice. The Taco Bell strategy
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Nov 9, 2023 06:25
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The best Lacerda is Vinhos, which also happens to be the only Lacerda I own. Vinhos owns.
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Nov 9, 2023 10:15
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Tekopo posted:The best Lacerda is Vinhos, which also happens to be the only Lacerda I own. Vinhos owns. Very Buddhist - the things you own end up owning you. Also the best Lacerda is The Gallerist because it's the most accessible. Escape Plan is a bit lighter and shorter, but the setup and teach are disproportionately long compared to the game.
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Nov 9, 2023 10:28
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Tekopo posted:The best Lacerda is Vinhos, which also happens to be the only Lacerda I own. Vinhos owns. I wish I had bitten the bullet and bought Vinhos back when we were obsessed with Viticulture and had the time and will to play bigger games like that. Those days will return eventually but for now it's just a What If? Blamestorm posted:I guess I feel that the greatest best games are the ones that are ideal for your group’s preferences as to what kind of experience they want, so if that’s Wingspan for your group more power to you. I just feel there are other games out there like wingspan with all those things you mention (soft corners, modern productions etc) that are just flat out more interesting/fun/faster/accessible. It’s not Wingspan vs Barrage, it’s vs (for my group) Heat/Flamme rouge, quest for el dorado, My City, Azul, Ra, it’s a wonderful world etc. Ra was a lot of fun when we played with my non-gaming family over the Summer. The real hit was Chinatown though. Minimal rules overhead, pure hustle and bustle and greenbacks rustling. It was fascinating seeing the personalities suddenly erupt. I have also had (shockingly) decent success introducing 1867 to my family because people recognise the area and railroads and it's not at all mean. I want to try 1856 with them at some point for similar reasons, possibly around Christmas by cashing in built-up trust and goodwill.
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Nov 9, 2023 14:24
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I just ordered all the second edition updates and compiled Dominion into a single box again. the old box exploded in 10 years ago and of course the game is completely unusable in original storage. I'm very loving excited for my 25 lb game. I also got isle of cats explore and draw which might be the greatest light game I've ever played.  Never used Boardlandia before but good deals
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Nov 9, 2023 14:39
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Time for the biweekly game night update! Heat: As a huge fan of Flamme Rouge I was excited to try Heat and I enjoyed it a lot. We did one lap of basic rules, then added weather for the second lap which seemed like a decent enough option to add variety to the tracks without the faff of sorting out the jigsaw pieces like in Flamme Rouge. The overall mechanics are solid with a nice hint of gambling with the stress cards and push your luck with the heat allowance. It's very satisfying to build up a bunch of heat, get just the right draw to let you drop down the gears, dump the heat back into your engine whilst keeping pace with your rivals, before shifting back up to wreck the car all over again. The biggest bonus is the numbers telling you how far you are from a corner though so the game doesn't devolve into the high stakes race game of counting squares. I finished second by a couple of spaces after getting unlucky with a stress draw whereas my rival hit the big numbers. These things happen. We're planning a Grand Prix type deal with the bonus engine parts at some point. Chai: After high intensity racing it was time for a spot of tea to settle down. It was pretty pleasant, but the race to complete orders adds some nice tempo to proceedings. The market mechanic is pretty cool, with the ability to take some ingredients in order to connect others when they slide down to let you get more bang for your buck is neat. I do not have the spacial awareness to really excel at that, but I still managed to eek out a win by overpaying to complete some big customer orders and then forcing the tempo by completing simple orders to not let people gazzump me. A bit like Azul, the tactile pieces are a good selling point. Speaking of Azul... Azul: I just love this game. Simple rules, great design, satisfying strategy and you get to irritate your friends sometimes. It's the ultimate gateway game in my opinion as well as the perfect opener/closer to a night of heavier games. I'm pretty certain it is by far my most played game. We have Whitehall Mystery and Quacks of Quedlinberg lined up for next time, with Steampunk Rally (maybe fusion, I can't remember) and Taverns of Tiefenthal set for an appearance soon. It's really nice to have met a couple who are as excited to showcase their collection as I am, so we're really whipping through the games. I plan on scheduling in a Sherlock Holmes type evening soon to give my partner something that's a bit more her cup of tea. We've previously enjoyed Cryptic Killers where you receive a case file and have to solve a crime so I think Consulting Detective will scratch a similar itch. I also might grab some escape rooms in a box to drop in occasionally.
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Nov 9, 2023 16:19
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I've played some of Heat, and nobody's thought to break out weather - honestly vanilla Heat is a bit dull for me. I enjoyed an expansion element where you draft a bunch of weird poo poo to put into your deck at the start of the game. I enjoy the little bit of drafting at the start when you try to theorycraft a working deck, and it's always a thrill when that pays off.
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Nov 9, 2023 16:26
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Heat is really cool but if I can't cause a pileup what is even the point
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Nov 9, 2023 16:30
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Harold Fjord posted:Heat is really cool Talk about a pasted on theme.
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Nov 9, 2023 16:31
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Redundant posted:Azul: quote:I plan on scheduling in a Sherlock Holmes type evening soon to give my partner something that's a bit more her cup of tea. We've previously enjoyed Cryptic Killers where you receive a case file and have to solve a crime so I think Consulting Detective will scratch a similar itch.
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Nov 9, 2023 16:48
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Holmes is a loving cheater Also, be prepared to set aside like four hours of just lying on the floor staring at the ceiling
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Nov 9, 2023 19:12
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I picked up Ticket to Ride Legacy from the store today. This is the heaviest legacy game yet; I have to put it on the bottom shelf with the likes of Gloomhaven.
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Nov 9, 2023 19:25
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The best Lacerda is Kanban imo, though I'd probably play Vinhos again.
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Nov 9, 2023 19:29
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SettingSun posted:I picked up Ticket to Ride Legacy from the store today. This is the heaviest legacy game yet; I have to put it on the bottom shelf with the likes of Gloomhaven. Interested in a spoiler free trip report on this one. Also why is it so heavy?
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Nov 9, 2023 19:40
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SettingSun posted:I picked up Ticket to Ride Legacy from the store today. This is the heaviest legacy game yet; I have to put it on the bottom shelf with the likes of Gloomhaven. It's out???
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Nov 9, 2023 19:41
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I'll open it up tonight and evaluate where all the weight is. First game will be this weekend and I will certainly provide a trip report.
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Nov 9, 2023 19:54
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If your Ticket to Ride box is too heavy, then it's time to train.  I just played a few solo games of Libertalia: Wings of Galecrest last night and that game seems really fun. The solo mode even works pretty well by throwing in a random card between you and the AI to gum up the works.
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Nov 9, 2023 20:14
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FulsomFrank posted:It's out??? Yeah, my copy from Miniature Market showed up earlier this week, still not sure which group I'm gonna play it with though, haha
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Nov 9, 2023 20:31
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Magnetic North posted:That would obviously be wonderful but unlike books, movies, and many video games, with most board games you have to convince others play them with you, and not everyone is as hardcore as thread denizens. Many want less direct competition, softer corners, lighter themes, bitty tactility, and modern attractive productions. You know, they want Marvel, not Herzog. No judgement, but we want gaming partners. So, if a beat-up copy of Mayfair's Tigris and Euphrates is newbie repellent, then Wingspan and its ilk are the pot of honey to try and lure them into the hobby. If they remain, they will hopefully eventually come around to the Church of Knizia. This is why I will never stop banging the drum of Knizia games but with cute animal themes
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Nov 9, 2023 20:39
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Lacerda chat: I've played all of the "big box" Lacerdas except for Escape plan, and rank them as follows - On Mars, Kanban EV, Weather Machine, CO2 Second Chance (semi co-op), Lisboa, Vinhos, Gallerist. I've played one learning game of Inventions and not sure where it'll land, probably between Weather and CO2 but time will tell. On Mars often gets touted as the heaviest/hardest but I think with that it's the most "open" feeling game. As my list progresses I personally find I have less of a range of options that aren't obviously rubbish, whereas On Mars and Kanban feel more dynamic with a larger decision space. That being said, none of them I particularly dislike and would happily play any of them if someone suggested it. Except maybe Lisboa. Something about the theme and art just really doesn't spike any interest in me. Not really sure why.
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Nov 9, 2023 20:45
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Admiralty Flag posted:Unsolicited advice for Consulting Detective: disregard the explanations of how Holmes solves the mysteries in four clues. These are calculated through black magic and intuitive leaps of fancy. Your score should be calculated on "Did we read any entries we didn't need?" and ignore the Holmes' path. Another fun variant is “spend some time after the case absolutely dunking on what a lovely detective Holmes is for ignoring obvious leads and not following clues in front of him.” We rant at what a terrible job he did for 10-15 minutes after each case and we feel great about how we did because of that.
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Nov 9, 2023 22:28
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Pryce posted:Another fun variant is “spend some time after the case absolutely dunking on what a lovely detective Holmes is for ignoring obvious leads and not following clues in front of him.” Complaining together about Holmes and/or specific clues for a variety of reasons is an important part of SHCD.
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Nov 9, 2023 22:48
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There's one case where Holmes just doesn't solve an aspect of it, like he never finds out the motive or something. Wish I could remember which one.
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Nov 9, 2023 23:03
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Quick Ticket to Ride Legacy update: the box clocks in at an impressive 10lbs, most of that seems to be the board, which is large, modular, and much of it is of course hidden away. Lots of cards and pieces fill in the rest of it. Very excited to crack it open in full over the weekend.
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Nov 9, 2023 23:42
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Pryce posted:Another fun variant is “spend some time after the case absolutely dunking on what a lovely detective Holmes is for ignoring obvious leads and not following clues in front of him.”
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Nov 9, 2023 23:47
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Hempuli posted:Complaining together about Holmes and/or specific clues for a variety of reasons is an important part of SHCD. I like the case where a pivotal element is remembering what the British consider a “gun” if you’re used to the American interpretation.
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Nov 10, 2023 00:53
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Admiralty Flag posted:Just curious: of those who've played both, who prefers Summer Pavilion to the original? I think SP is a far more engaging and interesting game. I haven't played any of the others, so I'd be interested in seeing if people think any of the others are even better. They're not. Stained Glass is clunky, and Queen's Garden wants to be a grown up heavier version but just ends up as a 45-minute game dragged out to 90. Summer Pavilion is my preferred version as well.
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Nov 10, 2023 01:10
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Is there a TLDR; on the differences between the versions? I've only ever played the original Azul and I am a big fan of it, so I've been curious about the others.
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Nov 10, 2023 01:52
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armorer posted:Is there a TLDR; on the differences between the versions? I've only ever played the original Azul and I am a big fan of it, so I've been curious about the others. Same. Especially the difference between summer pavilion and the garden one. Queens garden?
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Nov 10, 2023 03:29
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Bottom Liner posted:I appreciate you lumping TfM in with SM games. They definitely made and proved a point there. I think the design of SM games is quite good, or at least, easily interpreted, which leads onto the other thing they do well, which is generate hype. One of my regular board game nights kicked off by playing through the Scythe campaign (which was also my first introduction to Kickstarted games). I wouldn't say it was super memorable but it was easy to play and I appreicated the simplistic loop of the action selection. Once we've progressed from SidCon to an18xx binge (timeline on this is next year) I might break it out one night and see if it holds up for everyone.
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Nov 10, 2023 04:01
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best bale posted:Same. Especially the difference between summer pavilion and the garden one. Queens garden? Summer Pavilion is Azul for people who don’t like the threat of the giant smash. It has a lot of safety release mechanisms in it: you don’t declare where tiles are going when you start collecting them, each round a colour becomes a wild, and you can save four tiles between rounds. It makes it easier to pull new people in with it, but also doesn’t have as much pressure to judge the market correctly. Queens Garden ramps up the spatial puzzle. Tiles have a colour and a symbol, but functionally let’s say a colour and a number. You want to fill in paths that are wandering around garden features that form interlocking circles. To place a tile you need to reveal tiles of the same colour but unique numbers or vice versa, to the number value of the tile. So to place a yellow six tile, you need to reveal 1 to 6 in yellow, or six six tiles including the yellow, the discard the other tiles. When you place tile the same logic applies. You want to score runs of same colour but different numbers and vice versa, with the number of the tile being how valuable they are. Runs need to be at least three long to score, so making a run of ones is super easy but won’t get you much, while a run of sixes takes effort to get them into a scoring state. Because the paths branch though, you can have tiles score as part of a run of the same number, then again in part of a run of the same colour. If you feel your brain burning thinking about how you would need to place things to maximise scoring, then that is exactly how you will feel in the game. I find it more solitaire than Azul, not because I don’t know what my opponents want, but more because scoring my own board well is a more demanding task, but is more satisfying when it all clicks if you like that sort of thing.
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Nov 10, 2023 04:24
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Hello thread. Long time reader first time poster. Getting back into boardgaming after a few years away. Picked up Voidfall and just finished the tutorial scenario. Played 2 player competitive with my wife. Tutorial did its job and eased us both into it, we both had a really good time and left wanting to play again. I'm very glad I spent the last few days watching every youtube how to play and demo video. I'll say the game is a hard teach (as was mentioned in this thread the iconography alone will scare off a lot of people) but you get the hang of it pretty quickly and it plays really well. Looking forward to more sessions. Also I'm glad I sprung for the galactic box, if only because the provided storage trays are fantastic and help speed up the (admittedly still lengthy) setup and take down.
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Nov 10, 2023 04:32
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Commander Jebus posted:Hello thread. Long time reader first time poster. Print little stickers for the side of the house trays because finding which house is on each tray is a pain in the rear end
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Nov 10, 2023 06:43
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Ubik_Lives posted:<helpful azul stuff>
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Nov 10, 2023 13:58
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Anyone play the Resident Evil boardgame? Seems like it’s the third iteration of the idea (there’s a RE2 and 3 one) and I see good reviews online. My buddy and his girlfriend are also huge RE fans, so just wondering if it’s decent enough for a fun co-op experience.
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Nov 10, 2023 15:54
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PRADA SLUT posted:Print little stickers for the side of the house trays because finding which house is on each tray is a pain in the rear end Yeah, the storage solution for the house agendas/fallen houses and tech cards is the only part of the package that I'm scratching my head at. It seems it would be a lot quicker to keep them stored as decks and just pick out the cards you need.
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Nov 10, 2023 16:00
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