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The games I'm looking forward to this year are my outstanding kickstarters: Skyrise and Hellpiercers. I'm also pretty stoked for Tales of the Arthurian Knights, which reimplements Tales of the Arabian Nights. Everything I'm seeing about it seems like it's cleaning up all my issues with the first game.
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Jan 19, 2024 06:11
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Oldstench posted:gently caress no, Spartacus is dire. One of the most tedious gaming experiences of my life. I was thinking about Spartacus too and how there is a really neat game in there somewhere but As Is... not this one. Just while writing this I think if you accepted the ring combat stuff sucks and abstracted it to almost like a version of the card game War by way of Dungeon Petz with decks for fighters you could affect... I think it'd make for something kinda cool.
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Jan 19, 2024 15:15
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Oldstench posted:gently caress no, Spartacus is dire. One of the most tedious gaming experiences of my life. It's one of those games that I assume was play tested by the designers or people coached by the designers. I can see how it could work if you pay it a specific way but if you don't it just breaks down.
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Jan 20, 2024 00:31
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Dear god the Zoo Vadis rule book is clean.
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Jan 21, 2024 05:13
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Can anyone tell me briefly how Napoleon's Triumph compares to Triomphe a Marengo, gameplay core wise? At first glance they look very much the same but I suspect that's like saying 1830 and 1846 are "basically the same thing".
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Jan 21, 2024 17:45
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Keep seeing videos for Bloodstones after seeing it ramp up the hotness on BGG, and it looks real good. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTuCuzQ1dkU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bMbJ4GLRO4 Expensive AF tho, curious if it'll have legs to it.
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Jan 21, 2024 18:06
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I tried it when it was on the developing stages of it during Essen with Martin Wallace, and it seemed relatively fine when I tried it. It has some interesting elements in terms of how the different sides play, and I remember the combat/control system for the game being relatively cool, but it was quite some time ago now and it might have changed at release.
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Jan 21, 2024 18:22
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The Eyes Have It posted:Can anyone tell me briefly how Napoleon's Triumph compares to Triomphe a Marengo, gameplay core wise? At first glance they look very much the same but I suspect that's like saying 1830 and 1846 are "basically the same thing". Briefly. Briefly. Okay. NT feels like stratego and poker. You're lining up troops without real knowledge of what's facing you, and the only way is to attack or withstand an attack. Tons of maneuver, get cavalry behind to harass, draw enemies into undefendable positions and smash them. Tense the entire way through. If the French bring on reinforcements, it had better be decisive, because otherwise they have to take ground instead of holding it. TaM is more of a smash and grab. Allies are swinging hard to get through, and French are playing a defensive game, hold ground until you can't and then retreat before being overrun. Fall back, form a new line, defend. Combat is more maneuver than solid lines, a lot of come in hot then go around. I've only played once, but it's a solidly different feel for sure. NT is my favorite game in the world, I definitely want to play more TaM.
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Jan 21, 2024 18:47
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That's a really useful high level breakdown, thanks tons!
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Jan 21, 2024 19:16
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Infinitum posted:Keep seeing videos for Bloodstones after seeing it ramp up the hotness on BGG, and it looks real good. I've played it twice with 4 players. Once with the Chaos Horde, once without. It's feels like the love child of Risk and MW's other area control games. Some really good crunchy decisions to make about how you spend your tiles and the assymetry presents an interesting tactical puzzle. I quite like it so far. It'll be a shame if they don't find a pathway to make a retail edition, as it is something that could find a fair bit of (relatively) mass appeal.
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Jan 21, 2024 21:30
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The Eyes Have It posted:That's a really useful high level breakdown, thanks tons! My pleasure! Guns of Gettysburg, naturally, is nothing at all like either game. NT is the most out of print and expensive of course.
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Jan 22, 2024 02:19
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silvergoose posted:My pleasure! Guns of Gettysburg, naturally, is nothing at all like either game. NT is the most out of print and expensive of course. When I think back on how much handwringing I experienced over dropping AUD$200 for some of the last stockpiled copies of NT Rachel Simmons put up on Amazon, I have to laugh. Board game prices accelerated way past that very quickly, but not board game quality.
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Jan 22, 2024 06:54
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silvergoose posted:Briefly. Thanks for reminding me that TaM exists (and that I will never, ever play NT unless "Vasel's law" comes true and it gets a reprint). Trying to decide whether I buy direct from the company and eat the shipping or if my FLGS will bother stocking it. Lord knows they had Maria and others so come on guys, what's stopping you? I can see that there are 30 other people with it on their wishlist.
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Jan 22, 2024 19:38
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In No Thanks, you're supposed to keep your number of remaining tokens secret. Which often is advantageous to the player holding them. But are you allowed to share your count in situations where you want to? If somebody is trying to milk the other players for another round of free tokens before taking the card themselves, it's very tempting to say "dude, I'm broke, so I'll have to take the card if you pass another time". In this would be allowed it could also easily be a bluff to encourage the player to not pass on it. The rules are pretty sparse, and I just don't want to risk breaking the game by tweaking the rules in a way not intended.
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Jan 24, 2024 12:32
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It's a light hearted party game at it's core. Ask whatever questions you want, people can bluff. When we play it's usually a "mind shaking your hand for me? Sounds a little light" bit of ribbing; as it's pretty obvious when someone is forced to pick up or if someones milking a round or two on high cards for tokens Edit: Chinese 6 Nimmt rocked up. I love the art, it's so ugly   Cards are exactly the same as the standard version Infinitum fucked around with this message at 13:02 on Jan 24, 2024 |
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Jan 24, 2024 12:57
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uncle blog posted:In No Thanks, you're supposed to keep your number of remaining tokens secret. Which often is advantageous to the player holding them. But are you allowed to share your count in situations where you want to? The rules on my 2018 Amigo copy say it's "a good idea to keep your counters hidden" so I don't believe there is any rule that requires it. However, the 2015 Mayfair rules say "Keep your tokens secret in your hand" so make of that what you will. I believe it will always be to a player's benefit to have others not know your number of chips. Of course, a player with an eidetic memory will always know since it the game contains no asymmetric hidden information. (The 9 removed cards are not known, but no one knows them.) This is why BGA gives you the choice of public chip counts or hidden, as you see with other games where scores are calculable but obfuscated like Concordia. I could find no one asking about lying and negotiation on BGG, but I honestly feel like an experienced table would get wise to that pretty quickly because there is zero reason to ever offer that information willingly, so it must be a lie. It might be better to try and palm a few in a different hiding space than your usual hand to see if you can trick them into thinking you're broke without making it as obvious, but that would require being low on chips which is a disadvantage because fuckers will just take chips to keep you broke.
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Jan 24, 2024 13:00
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Keyforge finally came back, huh?
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Jan 25, 2024 22:43
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I was late to the yearly second hand games sale that’s held here so most of the good stuff had gone, but I did pick up a 1995 (in German, no less) copy of Medici for $15 
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Jan 26, 2024 08:13
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Arcs is quickly rocketing to the top of my favorite games. Just finished another game and it's so many good board game experiences in one knife-fight-right package.
CitizenKeen fucked around with this message at 14:37 on Jan 26, 2024 |
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Jan 26, 2024 08:59
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CitizenKeen posted:ARCS is quickly rocketing to the top of my favorite games. Just finished another game and it's so many good board game experiences in one knife-fight-right package. What does it stand for?
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Jan 26, 2024 09:29
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million dollar mack posted:I was late to the yearly second hand games sale that’s held here so most of the good stuff had gone, but I did pick up a 1995 (in German, no less) copy of Medici for $15 Which version with a terrible visual design flaw was that? (for the record I love Medici)
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Jan 26, 2024 13:09
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What's a fun game for 5 players that can comfortably be played at a pub while also being a bit meatier than something like High Society or Love Letter?
uncle blog fucked around with this message at 14:32 on Jan 26, 2024 |
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Jan 26, 2024 14:30
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Jedit posted:What does it stand for? Last night I could have sworn it was stylized as all caps.
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Jan 26, 2024 14:36
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uncle blog posted:What's a fun game for 5 players that can comfortably be played at a pub while also being a bit meatier than something like High Society or Love Letter? The real answer is have a deck of playing cards and learn some pub games https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZ_Qd5KTy3k
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Jan 26, 2024 15:20
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CitizenKeen posted:Last night I could have sworn it was stylized as all caps. It's not not stylized as all caps:  But it looks like all the emails telling me I really need to decide whether I'm upgrading that $1 I threw at the Kickstarter into a real pledge go with "Arcs".
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Jan 26, 2024 15:35
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Those 3 players on the box look real enthused to be playing Arcs.
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Jan 26, 2024 15:39
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My friends convinced me to get the all-in minis package for Arcs. It will be really great the one time we play it (looking at you Oath).
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Jan 26, 2024 16:03
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Your friends need better taste they should have pushed for the wood meeps CitizenKeen posted:Arcs is quickly rocketing to the top of my favorite games. Just finished another game and it's so many good board game experiences in one knife-fight-right package. One off or the mini campaign version? How’s that all coming along? Still symmetrical factions the first of 3(?) games? Is there a way to jump to the “good stuff” for one offs?
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Jan 26, 2024 16:13
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uncle blog posted:What's a fun game for 5 players that can comfortably be played at a pub while also being a bit meatier than something like High Society or Love Letter? Maybe some oink games? Startups, scout.
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Jan 26, 2024 17:13
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I’m a little loath to recommend anything with tiny tokens like the aforementioned oinks because it’s somewhat easy to lose components in a bar atmosphere unless you audit after each game. entering the roll and write realm might work better for portable, slightly meatier games with low table footprint and rules overhead. voyages, long shot dice, cartographers, welcome to…, et al.
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Jan 26, 2024 17:44
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Explore and Draw Resistance, Secret Hitler, etc.
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Jan 26, 2024 18:10
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uncle blog posted:What's a fun game for 5 players that can comfortably be played at a pub while also being a bit meatier than something like High Society or Love Letter? Depends on the size of your table, as the board is made up of cards that could be fiddly on a small table, but Impulse fits this description otherwise.
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Jan 26, 2024 18:19
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Harold Fjord posted:Resistance, Secret Hitler, etc. with 5 players, and meatier than high society?
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Jan 26, 2024 18:20
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Bottom Liner posted:Your friends need better taste they should have pushed for the wood meeps Time for a trip report, I guess? We've played twice so far. First we played the Vanilla, Symmetrical Game, which is meant only for teaching. It was great. Last night, we played the Leaders and Lore version, which has draftable special abilities (and limitations) to create asymmetry. (Campaign Game 1 in a few nights) Played were:
The opening Court Deck market row had one psionic Guild card, which I wanted, but which the Elders started bidding on. This led to a bidding war, and Nobles are quite good at bidding. The trick taking came to the fore as I was able to secure the trick with the final action in a round, spending resources and pips to dump four Agents on the Guild Card, and then having securing the trick I was able to lead with the Aggression suit to secure the Guild card next round. This did not go over well with Elders, as I had just secured 7 of their 10 Agents as captives. (In my defense, the Nobles are good at bidding and the Elders are encouraged to declare the Tyrant's ambition, so I assumed he'd get them back soon.) I took a small early lead by declaring the Empath's Ambition. The Elders pivoted and took the Material Cartel guild card, gaining control of all the Material supply, ensuring their Ambition of being a Tycoon. But then the Shapers, replete with the wealth of their Gate Stations, stole the Cartel. The ire of the Elders was poised to point in another direction. Then I declared an Ambition, and as the Noble, when I declare an Ambition, I secure the top card of the Court Deck. And when I did, Outrage Spread. I chose a resource type and all four players Provoke Outrage of that type. In my foolishness, I didn't think too much about the implications, and chose Material because there was a lot of it on the board (but not on my board). I had now thwarted the Elders twice. I don't think I've ever seen that player that salty before. Pure hate. The Shapers were also not thrilled to lose all the resources and Guild Cards they had spent their hand accruing. I had a nice trajectory of Psionic power into Empath's Ambition into VP, but I was not ready for the fallout. The Elders and Shapers were able to convince the Corsair that I was the greatest threat (I was not), and the Corsair brought their mighty fleet to my systems while I was distracted building a Cloud City on the Shaper's Fuel World. Weakened by the Corsairs, I was no match for the combined efforts of the Shapers (seeking to score the Warlord's Ambition with the Trophies of my ships) and the Elders (destroying my starports with their hate-fueled missiles). We only played three chapters (the game is currently running for us at 1 hour per chapter) and then we called it, with the Elders securing victory through their collection of material resources and ancient Relics. The suggestion that non-campaign games play over 5 Chapters feels long right now, but otherwise, no notes. It's a Cirque du Soleil of a knife-fight, just hitting so many space opera tropes. Can't wait for the next game. Ninja Edit: Realized I didn't answer your question "Is there a way to jump to the “good stuff” for one offs?" I think Leaders and Lore is pretty much the good stuff and available as a one-shot. Lots of asymmetry, as much as you're going to get for one-offs. I think the full campaign is the way to go for peak magic, but that's probably a 6-8 hour day for experienced players. CitizenKeen fucked around with this message at 18:44 on Jan 26, 2024 |
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Jan 26, 2024 18:42
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Sounds neat and sort of like Root? Those types of games are too negotiation/strategic whining focused for my tastes, but I'm glad it's a good game.
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Jan 26, 2024 19:52
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uncle blog posted:What's a fun game for 5 players that can comfortably be played at a pub while also being a bit meatier than something like High Society or Love Letter? That is a tough ask. Pub games will skew light, and non-light games will skew away from pubbery. Other games might be tough because it might be a bit loud there or the table conditions might not be ideal. Also, lots of great games just stop at 4. I did a BGG search because nothing game to mind. Cartographers should work well if the lighting is okay. Challengers! is divisive (since it's an auto-battler War-esque game) and at 5 you need the robot player, but it doesn't have too many bits to lose. Scout was already mentioned but probably fits the bill, though it still is fairly light. Bohnanza (or whatever version you can find) should work at a bar? Never actually played this one. The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine or The Crew: Mission Deep Sea are absolutely terrific, but I don't know if they shine at 5 and will depend even more on the lighting and ability to concentrate. Looking at my shelf and seeing The King Is Dead made me wonder if Condottiere would work in a bar, but I never played it and have no idea if it is even in print.
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Jan 26, 2024 22:18
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Magnetic North posted:… strongly disagree with the challengers! recommendation. opinions on the gameplay aside it’s a massive table hog and has a surplus of tokens (that sometimes sit on cards) and the box/setup isn’t exactly what I’d call ‘bar-portable’.  (credit: w. eric martin)bohnanza is a great lighter title for shooting the poo poo with over a few drinks, but has a somewhat similar issue of requiring a decent amount of table real estate, if the players play with their fields splayed. it’s a good one for bar play because it’s extremely negotiation-driven but expect the cards to take a decent amount of wear. condottierre is great for 5, very portable, offers a lot of interesting decision space in a very light ruleset, and is very fast. the components are small but in my experience they don’t usually stray from the small board. it’s a perfect suggestion except that it hasn’t been in print for over half a decade now
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Jan 26, 2024 22:48
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Condo rules, one of the best small box games for 4-5p. Has a great “ok let’s go again” tendency. Just strip the deck down to the original cards and distribution, it’s a much better and tighter game.
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Jan 26, 2024 22:58
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panko posted:with 5 players, and meatier than high society? A bit! Also, Bloodborne card game. It's probably my favorite for 5 right now Harold Fjord fucked around with this message at 23:10 on Jan 26, 2024 |
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Jan 26, 2024 23:06
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Just started a game of Ticket to Ride Legacy within 12 hours of finishing my game of Arcs, and talk about some cognitive overhead whiplash.
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Jan 26, 2024 23:13
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