The New Board Game Thread (Newcomer Friendly)

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AlphaTwo00 said:
Also had recently started Race for the Galaxy: is there a good way to introduce that game to people? I find that explaining the game for a beginner seems to be quite impossible due to the amount of variations in actions you can do based on the planets/production you own.
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This is why I got rid of RFTG. Brilliant game if everyone know what they are doing.

trying to explain the glowy planet does x while the colored planet does y, and the 4 cards with an X through them means….. it's impossible to teach the game to someone who isn't really really dedicated to learning how to play it.
 
StoOgE said:
This is why I got rid of RFTG. Brilliant game if everyone know what they are doing.

trying to explain the glowy planet does x while the colored planet does y, and the 4 cards with an X through them means….. it's impossible to teach the game to someone who isn't really really dedicated to learning how to play it.
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And adding all the expansion rules didn't help each time. Also didn't help that they would put symbols and stuff on cards that had nothing to do with the set and it was for future expansions. Even if your not teaching anyone the expansion rules to keep it simple, they always get confused by what all these extra symbols are.
 
BattleMonkey said:
And adding all the expansion rules didn't help each time. Also didn't help that they would put symbols and stuff on cards that had nothing to do with the set and it was for future expansions. Even if your not teaching anyone the expansion rules to keep it simple, they always get confused by what all these extra symbols are.
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It's really unfortunate about RFTG, because the symbology is actually really useful, just overwhelming to new players. I have found that teaching them San Juan is a great stepping stone into learning RFTG though.
 
Flynn said:
I always teach RFTG by saying, "You are going to hate this the first time.."
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That was me for sure :) 500+ plays later, I think I was wrong :) I got lucky with it twice - two lunch groups at different jobs over the years where the people had time to learn the iconography over multiple plays & where it just hit a perfect time sweetspot.
 
My group played our first game of Eclipse last week, and have scheduled game 2 for this weekend. I have Rise of the Ancients coming in the mail this week as well.

Any recommendations for easing into deeper games? I was planning:

- Everyone choose races this time (played all human last game)
- Add the ancient starting locations from the expansion (we have 4 players, so would be filling in two empty start areas). \

Anything else in the expansion so good that we need to add it right away? I read that the new tech mitigates what some people feel are overpowered plasma missles, but they weren't an issue last game for us.
 
If this has already been posted, apologies, but while at my local Barnes and Noble, I saw that they had copies of Eclipse in the clearance bins for 50% off. YMMV of course.
 
Shiv47 said:
If this has already been posted, apologies, but while at my local Barnes and Noble, I saw that they had copies of Eclipse in the clearance bins for 50% off. YMMV of course.
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Barnes & Noble is a weird place. I've never seen Eclipse in there and I've been in pretty recently. Did they just start carrying it and decide to stop already?
 
Slacker said:
Barnes & Noble is a weird place. I've never seen Eclipse in there and I've been in pretty recently. Did they just start carrying it and decide to stop already?
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I'd seen it before, but this particular store had obviously given up on it. There were two copies in the bins with special 50% off stickers. Too rich for the casual shopper's blood, I'd imagine.
 
Love fest for eclipse is over, its readily available. The game selling out its first run built up tons of hype but now that its readily available, its been marked down in several sales. Cool stuff recently had it for a fairly big discount too. Lot of retailers probably bought up tons of stock. And yea its not something folks would probably buy at BN.... its an ugly game on the outside.
 
Picked up Edge of the Empire having never played a PnP RPG and played it with two other newbies.

We absolutely got the rules wrong but for the most part it handled well. Hilarious fun.
Anybody bought the hardback core rule book? Would you recommend going out of my way for it?
 
BattleMonkey said:
Love fest for eclipse is over, its readily available. The game selling out its first run built up tons of hype but now that its readily available, its been marked down in several sales. Cool stuff recently had it for a fairly big discount too. Lot of retailers probably bought up tons of stock. And yea its not something folks would probably buy at BN.... its an ugly game on the outside.
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It sold out at least two print runs before retailers like BN picked it up. It's also a $100 SRP so I can see why it doesn't fit the BN crowd. It's still most definitely a love fest with me.
 
Got around to playing Carson City tonight!

First time playing, and explaining the rules took some time but understanding the game didn't take too long which was cool. I had a fun time playing, even though I ended up falling behind and losing by about 10 points to the next player before me.

Early on I tried settling near a bunch of mountains and setting up a mine asap, but unfortunately people started buying up the nearby mountains so the mine dropped in value significantly. I resorted to dueling the other players and robbing settlements for money and having to save up cowboys in order to keep my firepower up. I don't think that was a "desperate" strategy though, in fact it seemed like if I had put more effort into robbing and denying actions or buildings I would've come out much better. Also robbing and dueling was fun!
 
fenners said:
It sold out at least two print runs before retailers like BN picked it up. It's also a $100 SRP so I can see why it doesn't fit the BN crowd. It's still most definitely a love fest with me.
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Most people who wanted it got theirs already and it's readily available now is all I meant. It was the major hotness for a while and the low supply spurred it on more, but it's calmed down now and lot of retailers are well stocked on it, probably more than needed. Like I said, the games packaging on the outside is not going to help it sell to a general crowd at a B&N. Surprised they carry such a variety of games now since so often they just end up putting them on clearance anyways, have gotten quite a few deals especially on Euro games from them.
 
I first got into modern board gaming on a B&N sale like six years ago or so? 50% off and they had all these Rio Grande and Avalon Hill games, which was pretty rare for bookstores at the time.
 
I can't get my wife to play All Creatures Great and Small. I told her I would take the baby back and she didn't budge.

Just got the Ascension expansion in the mail. I guess it was late or something because Stone Blade gave me 10 bucks credit in their web store.
 
Flynn said:
I can't get my wife to play All Creatures Great and Small. I told her I would take the baby back and she didn't budge.

Just got the Ascension expansion in the mail. I guess it was late or something because Stone Blade gave me 10 bucks credit in their web store.
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But the animeeples!
 
Flynn said:
I can't get my wife to play All Creatures Great and Small. I told her I would take the baby back and she didn't budge.

Just got the Ascension expansion in the mail. I guess it was late or something because Stone Blade gave me 10 bucks credit in their web store.
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I thought about picking that one up for the same purpose (wife play) but held off for fear of the same reaction. I can get my wife to grudgingly play Glen More, Dominion, Carcassonne, and Lost Cities, but she really only wants to play Ticket to Ride. One day I'll will find a second game that she likes enough to request herself. :P
 
Ri'Orius said:
Eminent Domain has an expansion on Kickstarter.

The games a cool mix of Dominion and Race for the Galaxy; it's a lot of fun, and the expansion sounds quite promising. I've checked out some of the designer's blog posts about it (and a second upcoming expansion) and he's obviously put a lot of work into it. Should be good.

So go fund it. I want more stretch rewards!
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I've starred it for a reminder. I'm about 70% sure I'm diving in @ the $50 level to get the base game. But I have Twilight Emperium, which satisfies my intergalatic-conquering-bastard theme. ED looks simpler, so I'm likely to bite.

Update on Zombicide:

I. Fucking. Love. It.

It's certainly faster. However, we tried a 5P run against Scenario 01-City and lost quickly. Huge mobs formed after someone decided it was a good idea to open the doors of the NW warehouse and realize that EVERY ROOM teemed with infected. As the cop, I fought off another huge hoarde at an intersection, sacrificing myself. It was no use, however, as the others were picked off one by one. Tough scenario, all in all. But damn it was exciting.

Cannot WAIT for Season 2. Like, I'm-10-yrs-old-and-I'm-expecting-the-most-awesome-bicycle-or-new-gaming-system kinda of cannot wait...

Platy - We have GOT to get together @ Raygun someday, try to drag some of the other Seattle folk as well, and make a solid gamenight. I also host every Sunday or so @ my place on First Hill, if you or anyone else is down for expanding your gaming group. :)
 
blurrygil said:
I've starred it for a reminder. I'm about 70% sure I'm diving in @ the $50 level to get the base game. But I have Twilight Emperium, which satisfies my intergalatic-conquering-bastard theme. ED looks simpler, so I'm likely to bite.

Update on Zombicide:

I. Fucking. Love. It.

It's certainly faster. However, we tried a 5P run against Scenario 01-City and lost quickly. Huge mobs formed after someone decided it was a good idea to open the doors of the NW warehouse and realize that EVERY ROOM teemed with infected. As the cop, I fought off another huge hoarde at an intersection, sacrificing myself. It was no use, however, as the others were picked off one by one. Tough scenario, all in all. But damn it was exciting.

Cannot WAIT for Season 2. Like, I'm-10-yrs-old-and-I'm-expecting-the-most-awesome-bicycle-or-new-gaming-system kinda of cannot wait...

Platy - We have GOT to get together @ Raygun someday, try to drag some of the other Seattle folk as well, and make a solid gamenight. I also host every Sunday or so @ my place on First Hill, if you or anyone else is down for expanding your gaming group. :)
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Eminent Domain and TI3 have a couple similarities, but they are completely different games. I highly recommend Eminent Domain, its a great little card game thats very easy to learn and play.

$50 for the base game and the new expansion is an awesome deal, I would highly recommend jumping in at that price.
 
I just picked up Mage Knight, which is awesome and has the bonus of a single player mode, and Android : Netrunner, which I have only played once so far.

I have heard there is an expansion for Mage Knight, does anyone have it?
 
RaySpencer said:
Eminent Domain and TI3 have a couple similarities, but they are completely different games. I highly recommend Eminent Domain, its a great little card game thats very easy to learn and play.

$50 for the base game and the new expansion is an awesome deal, I would highly recommend jumping in at that price.
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Its like Puerto Rico, Dominion and Glory to Rome right?
 
Shadow of the BEAST said:
are there any other game similar to risk?

I used to love playing risk as a kid.
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Modern board games are as a rule much better than Risk...

You could try Risk: legacy for a modern twist on Risk.

Ticket to Ride or Settlers are both really good gateway games - whenever I bring TTR to the table I know for a fact that all players will have a good time, even if they have never played it before.
 
Shadow of the BEAST said:
are there any other game similar to risk?

I used to love playing risk as a kid.
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Tons.

Axis and Allies series of games, Diplomacy, Fortress America, Age of Conan, Conquest of Nerrath, Clash of Cultures, Shogun...

Then you have similar style games with much more unique mechanics or variety/complexity such as Game of Thrones and Twilight Struggle.
 
JetBlackPanda said:
my local B&N has Eclipse in stock.. should I bite for $50 ??
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Absolutely. It's an excellent game, and even if it doesn't click with your group, you can easily sell it for what you paid. My group just started and it was an instant hit.


Shadow of the BEAST said:
are there any other game similar to risk?

I used to love playing risk as a kid.
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Risk 2210AD is excellent for a game that's Risk at its core but updated to be a more interesting game. My group doesn't play it as much as we used to, but it's a great game.

And as mentioned, Risk Legacy is awesome if you have a regular group. My group blew through our first playthrough (the game changes over the course of 15 plays) and bought a second copy so we could do it all over again.

Search youtube for reviews to get an idea what the games look like (watch out for Risk Legacy spoilers though).
 
Man, the last several weeks of videogame releases has wrecked me. I haven't had a chance to play anything in over 3 weeks aside from a single game of Le Havre 2p w/ the S.O.

I'm itching to get back into something meaty! I wish Brugge didn't have so long of a wait for a US release. Looks great.

What's the word on BB:TM Xpack? Dwarves get tweaked at all?
 
Neverfade said:
Man, the last several weeks of videogame releases has wrecked me. I haven't had a chance to play anything in over 3 weeks aside from a single game of Le Havre 2p w/ the S.O.

I'm itching to get back into something meaty! I wish Brugge didn't have so long of a wait for a US release. Looks great.

What's the word on BB:TM Xpack? Dwarves get tweaked at all?
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Nope! But the new factions are a lot of fun. :D
 
Neverfade said:
Man, the last several weeks of videogame releases has wrecked me. I haven't had a chance to play anything in over 3 weeks aside from a single game of Le Havre 2p w/ the S.O.

I'm itching to get back into something meaty! I wish Brugge didn't have so long of a wait for a US release. Looks great.

What's the word on BB:TM Xpack? Dwarves get tweaked at all?
Click to expand...
Dwarves are still as useless as ever. The new contract tokens are more awesome than they sound on paper. They basically just add a hidden end game scoring but since you can't even look at them you still can surprised by he outcome. I've only played against one new race but I really like their downed abilities. The resurrection isn't as OP'd as I initially thought since you need to still get lucky on a die roll. So far it's worth it.
 
Anyone have opinions on Agricola Creatures Big and Small and/or Le Havre Inland Port? I almost never play 2 player games except with my wife or daughter, neither of which would enjoy the complexity of the original games. Are the 2p versions simplified a bit?

Also, anyone know anything about Lady Alice?
 
RaySpencer said:
Eminent Domain and TI3 have a couple similarities, but they are completely different games. I highly recommend Eminent Domain, its a great little card game thats very easy to learn and play.

$50 for the base game and the new expansion is an awesome deal, I would highly recommend jumping in at that price.
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OK, I backed :) Game + expansion!
 
Korgill said:
I just picked up Mage Knight, which is awesome and has the bonus of a single player mode, and Android : Netrunner, which I have only played once so far.

I have heard there is an expansion for Mage Knight, does anyone have it?
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I have the Mage Knight expansion. I have played with it a couple of times and it pretty much just makes the game better and gives you more variety. You can get a ton out of the game without it if you are trying to save money. That said if you want more Mage Knight go get it.

Couple new games : Picked up Sentinels of the Multiverse:EE and Boots on the Ground. BotG seems very rules light but highly narrative experience so I am pretty pumped about playing that. I doubt it will beat out A Day of Heroes for my favorite modern-era conflict game though.
 
Neverfade said:
Man, the last several weeks of videogame releases has wrecked me.
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You and me both. I've gotten 12 new video games in less than a month thanks to a combination of sales and my birthday. I float around my hobbies from week to week and month to month and right now video games is taking priority. I'll be looking out for board games sales though, so when this hobby swings back I'll have lots of new stuff to play with :)

Such a hard life!
 
Slacker said:
Anyone have opinions on Agricola Creatures Big and Small and/or Le Havre Inland Port? I almost never play 2 player games except with my wife or daughter, neither of which would enjoy the complexity of the original games. Are the 2p versions simplified a bit?

Also, anyone know anything about Lady Alice?
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Both of the Rosenburg 2p games are hugely simplified. I still enjoy them quite a bit, but perhaps not as much as the originals. If you go Agricola 2p, be sure to just get the expansion with it. It's like 10 bucks online and it adds a lot of replayability by adding a ton of buildings to build. The base game only has like 5 different buildings that don't change each game, thus IMO, gets stale.

Le Havre needs an expansion, too. The mechanics are solid, but the same buildings come out the same round in each game. This flies in the face of the randomized supply tiles of the original, which kept it from being solved like a puzzle.
 
Neverfade said:
Both of the Rosenburg 2p games are hugely simplified. I still enjoy them quite a bit, but perhaps not as much as the originals. If you go Agricola 2p, be sure to just get the expansion with it. It's like 10 bucks online and it adds a lot of replayability by adding a ton of buildings to build. The base game only has like 5 different buildings that don't change each game, thus IMO, gets stale.

Le Havre needs an expansion, too. The mechanics are solid, but the same buildings come out the same round in each game. This flies in the face of the randomized supply tiles of the original, which kept it from being solved like a puzzle.
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Thanks for the info. I think I've written off Le Havre IP after looking at it more - looks way too dry for wife/kids to enjoy. May have to get some animeeples up in here (+expansion).
 
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