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[fenners]

For context, BGG.Con rough attendance figures -

2012 - under 2000.
2013 - 2300
2014 - 2600 (allegedly).

The hotel space just isn't big enough for that number of people IMO.

 

[mercviper]

It's still thoroughly the focus, but they've definitely increased the vendor space & the space allocated to vendor demos. But attendance is way up in the past couple of years too...

The big issue that bugged people this past year was the chunk of the main ballroom given over to vendors. Management insists that because rooms were opened up elsewhere it counterbalanced it, but like hell it did. Just looking at the map shows open table space decreased.

So combine that with a small attitude shift in folk - they know table space is at a premium, so folk kept onto tables where they could, especially Saturday, and a general decrease in "looking for players" open games, it didn't work as well as it has in the past.

I think the biggest thing is that even if they did open up new rooms they didn't really let the attendees know about it or where they could find it so it basically didn't exist.

 

[XShagrath]

Panamax is 34% Amazon Prime today.

Played this today for the first time. It started out really heavy, but after the first round, everything became very simple. I thought the design and mechanics were pretty sweet, and definitely will play it again when I have the chance.

Also played Alchemists again. This time, I got a four player game going. I didn't do quite as well as the first time I played, but I did up with some new strategies based on some of the things that happened.

 

[AstroLad]

It's still thoroughly the focus, but they've definitely increased the vendor space & the space allocated to vendor demos. But attendance is way up in the past couple of years too...

The big issue that bugged people this past year was the chunk of the main ballroom given over to vendors. Management insists that because rooms were opened up elsewhere it counterbalanced it, but like hell it did. Just looking at the map shows open table space decreased.

So combine that with a small attitude shift in folk - they know table space is at a premium, so folk kept onto tables where they could, especially Saturday, and a general decrease in "looking for players" open games, it didn't work as well as it has in the past.

Haha yep exactly. I think I went on a semi-rant about this on a BGG thread that you were on too. The worst part is that they made Filmmakers like a demo area. It was such a great tucked-away place to go. I guess they made space available upstairs somewhere but tbh that's lame. At that point you might as well just game with your game group if you're not even going to be on the same floor as the Con. And yeah, there was a tremendous drop-off in Players Wanted/true open gaming tables. Even with record attendance it felt more like a local Con than ever imo. This is horribly selfish, but I almost wish they would raise the ticket prices a good amount just to make it less appealing for local game groups to just camp out there for the weekend.

 

[fenners]

Haha yep exactly. I think I went on a semi-rant about this on a BGG thread that you were on too. The worst part is that they made Filmmakers like a demo area. It was such a great tucked-away place to go. I guess they made space available upstairs somewhere but tbh that's lame. At that point you might as well just game with your game group if you're not even going to be on the same floor as the Con. And yeah, there was a tremendous drop-off in Players Wanted/true open gaming tables. Even with record attendance it felt more like a local Con than ever imo. This is horribly selfish, but I almost wish they would raise the ticket prices a good amount just to make it less appealing for local game groups to just camp out there for the weekend.

They opened up the upstairs space after it was so obviously crowded - I don't believe there were any plans announced for their availability ahead of the Con, but I could be wrong. Yeah, I remember that thread now - lots of people complaining about the space & change in atmosphere, and admins saying no open table space was lost, repeatedly... Yeah.

On a different note, second mission in our Imperial Assault campaign last night, first side-quest. We got stomped, basically, but had a ton of fun doing so. The mission was a 'get quick rich' side-quest with a twist in the middle that none of us expected & because of the timing when it occurred, we lost out on the cash essentially.

This was just before we got stomped - you can't see another wave of stormtroopers behind the door on the right... That upgraded E-Web cannon is a total pain to deal with.

 

[antiquegamer]

I've never played Legendary: Marvel before but I'm considering getting the base game and all the expansions in one swoop. That's the base game + 2 big box expansions, and all 4 small box expansions. It seems like an amazing amount of content for around $175 total. Reviews seem to universally praise the game and it's right up my alley in terms of theme.

Good idea or am I off my rocker?

If it's really something you are sure you will enjoy. I like Legendary but my kids hated the set up time and clean up so we hardly ever play it. It is a good game and supposedly the Dark City expansion really improve the game. I can't judge you since I just drop $150 on used lot of Arkham Horror.

I was looking at Legendary Encounter since I enjoy thematic game but now I discovered Robinson Crusoe and Darkest Night I am having a second thought.

Speaking of that how is Darkest Night? It seems to get mixed reviews also and several claim it's easy game that easily beat once you figure out the mechanic.

As for Crusoe which seems to get mostly positive praise on BBG, I am on the fence because of the complain of confusing rules. I watch Rahdo run-through of Crusoe, and it seems up my alley, doom around every corners and risk VS reward every turns. He hated it (of course), I don't think he like any game with dice or any type of game with conflict or tension. His kind of game seems to be moving block around and tally up points at the end. But he did make me hesitate because while I like hard game I don't want to play one that there is no hope of winning. What are your guys thought? I am going to be mostly solo play. (I also looking at Mage Knight).

 

[Lyng]

If it's really something you are sure you will enjoy. I like Legendary but my kids hated the set up time and clean up so we hardly ever play it. It is a good game and supposedly the Dark City expansion really improve the game. I can't judge you since I just drop $150 on used lot of Arkham Horror.

I was looking at Legendary Encounter since I enjoy thematic game but now I discovered Robinson Crusoe and Darkest Night I am having a second thought.

Speaking of that how is Darkest Night? It seems to get mixed reviews also and several claim it's easy game that easily beat once you figure out the mechanic.

As for Crusoe which seems to get mostly positive praise on BBG, I am on the fence because of the complain of confusing rules. I watch Rahdo run-through of Crusoe, and it seems up my alley, doom around every corners and risk VS reward every turns. He hated it (of course), I don't think he like any game with dice or any type of game with conflict or tension. His kind of game seems to be moving block around and tally up points at the end. But he did make me hesitate because while I like hard game I don't want to play one that there is no hope of winning. What are your guys thought? I am going to be mostly solo play. (I also looking at Mage Knight).

Both Robinson Crusoe and Mage Knight are great games. However the rulebook in RC is maybe the worst I have ever seen. It's so fiddly and does a horrible job of explaining how the rules work in different circumstances.
But if you get over that hump it's a great game.
Mage Knight is even more complex but the rulebook in MK is fantastic. And the rules make thematic sense. For example if an enemy is in a keep they are automatically fortified and you need to either use siege weapons or get in close to hit them.
Mage Knight has a ton of rules but due to how logic they are, they are easy to remember.
Mage Knight blew me off my socks and is already my favourite game of all time.

 

[antiquegamer]

Both Robinson Crusoe and Mage Knight are great games. However the rulebook in RC is maybe the worst I have ever seen. It's so fiddly and does a horrible job of explaining how the rules work in different circumstances.
But if you get over that hump it's a great game.
Mage Knight is even more complex but the rulebook in MK is fantastic. And the rules make thematic sense. For example if an enemy is in a keep they are automatically fortified and you need to either use siege weapons or get in close to hit them.
Mage Knight has a ton of rules but due to how logic they are, they are easy to remember.
Mage Knight blew me off my socks and is already my favourite game of all time.

Thanks you. I am torn between these two as my next game, Mage Knight has a lot of praise and looks like much better game than Darkest Night but I am drawn more to Crusoe setting (a bit burn out on fantasy) plus Mage Knight have stuffs for more than one players and I doubt I will ever get any of my family to play Mage Knight. I really want game that solo well at all scenarios.

My new dice tray/chest I fashioned from cigar humidors (just add felt really, may be I will decorated it but kinda like the simple look). I don't know if I want to cover all the inner surface with felt I kind of like the sound of dice bouncing off wood but I am sure my wife rather not hear them.

 

[Lyng]

Thanks you. I am torn between these two as my next game, Mage Knight has a lot of praise and looks like much better game than Darkest Night but I am drawn more to Crusoe setting (a bit burn out on fantasy) plus Mage Knight have stuffs for more than one players and I doubt I will ever get any of my family to play Mage Knight. I really want game that solo well at all scenarios.

My new dice tray/chest I fashioned from cigar humidors (just add felt really, may be I will decorated it but kinda like the simple look). I don't know if I want to cover all the inner surface with felt I kind of like the sound of dice bouncing off wood but I am sure my wife rather not hear them.

No matter which one you go with you are in for a treat. I have both in my collection and will never get rid of either.
I will say this though, Mage Knight is the only 2hour+ game that ever made me want to play it again right after beeing done.
Robinson Crusoe is a bit too fiddly for that.
But both games are great, and if you are searching for that RC theme then you will love it. It really nails that tension perfectly. And the different decks you need to pull from when you roll that ? will allways make you scared.
At the same time though you never feel that its a random game, if you plan your strategy right then you will most likely succeed.

 

[Gaming Truth]

My new dice tray/chest I fashioned from cigar humidors (just add felt really, may be I will decorated it but kinda like the simple look). I don't know if I want to cover all the inner surface with felt I kind of like the sound of dice bouncing off wood but I am sure my wife rather not hear them.

Wow, that actually looks perfect for Roll for the Galaxy. That's a roll-heavy game where the partition they included is far too small. Colored player felt, rules reminder on inner lid. Too bad I don't actually own the game!

 

[joelseph]

I'm making the trip to Geekway to the West. Will I get to see any of you there?

 

[joeyjoejoeshabadoo]

Wow, that actually looks perfect for Roll for the Galaxy. That's a roll-heavy game where the partition they included is far too small. Colored player felt, rules reminder on inner lid. Too bad I don't actually own the game!

You thing the screen in Roll for the Galaxy is too small? They basically fit the entire rulebook on there, it's gigantic.

 

[TumblingHippo]

Any impressions of the Pandemic "State of Emergency" expansion worth noting? I've seen the modules and it looks... neat?

Also, my OCD makes me sad that I probably couldn't fit the expansion in the main box, but considering how modular this expansion looks, maybe that's okay.

Edit: Oh no, it has a die. Now I know it's not worth getting because my game group hates dice in games and life is suffering because of that. /s

 

[Gaming Truth]

You thing the screen in Roll for the Galaxy is too small? They basically fit the entire rulebook on there, it's gigantic.

For the dice to be rolled. It's basically an index card trying to hide 10+ dice. It does a poor job hiding the dice rolls (unless players carefully pour out of the cup, which defeats the purpose of using the cpu), and does a far-worse job of hiding the player assignments (especially when 4+ dice are assigned to a specific roll).

The rules refresher is actually wonderful. I'd keep the card and paste it directly to the inside lid of the cigar box.

 

[joeyjoejoeshabadoo]

For the dice to be rolled. It's basically an index card trying to hide 10+ dice. It does a poor job hiding the dice rolls (unless players carefully pour out of the cup, which defeats the purpose of using the cpu), and does a far-worse job of hiding the player assignments (especially when 4+ dice are assigned to a specific roll).

The rules refresher is actually wonderful. I'd keep the card and paste it directly to the inside lid of the cigar box.

Ah, i get it, you roll differently than I do. I usually just shake the cup and slam it upside down. I just assumed everybody did that with dice/cup games.

 

[UpperCaseN]

Edit: Oh no, it has a die. Now I know it's not worth getting because my game group hates dice in games and life is suffering because of that. /s

damn, that sucks big time. If they're Pandemic fans, I would argue that the shuffle of the deck creates more random nature than a die would. With a die you can at least easily calculate your probability. With a deck it can be fudged but you never know for sure.

 

[Phthisis]

Speaking of that how is Darkest Night? It seems to get mixed reviews also and several claim it's easy game that easily beat once you figure out the mechanic.

I LOVE Darkest Knight. I love the dark fantasy theme (it's very Demon's/Dark Souls-esque), the simplicity of the mechanics, the tension of the game. Honestly, I prefer it to Arkham Horror, which is probably the closest game to it.

The core game can be "figured out", I suppose, but the expansions all add additional elements and mechanics that can adjust the difficulty of the game. I would say the first expansion is a must-own because it adds quests, which make the player group choices way more difficult and interesting.

 

[TumblingHippo]

damn, that sucks big time. If they're Pandemic fans, I would argue that the shuffle of the deck creates more random nature than a die would. With a die you can at least easily calculate your probability. With a deck it can be fudged but you never know for sure.

Yeah, it's really weird, one guy just loathes dice in general, yet is completely fine for with a shuffled deck of cards and always feels the randomness is fair there, but not with dice.

 

[mercviper]

Finally got some plays in for Roll for the Galaxy. Really enjoying it. Still trying to figure out how to balance my workers properly, but it's mad fun. Also played a bunch more of an old favorite, Compounded, and learned once again that I had gotten a few rules wrong lol. I'm sad I missed out on the kickstarter for its expansion since csi doesn't stock it, but I'll just pick it up when they finish. Glow in the dark elements to represent radioactivity? Yes plz.

 

[Gaming Truth]

Ah, i get it, you roll differently than I do. I usually just shake the cup and slam it upside down. I just assumed everybody did that with dice/cup games.

Oh yeah, I never grew up with Yahtzee (or a dice cup). I've noticed while watching others that no one uses it the way it should be used. It could be because we play in a public place and are noise-conscious, but the cup is essentially used like a fixed-sized hand, not the randomizer in the equation.

 

[Neverfade]

Hand over top of cup. Shake. Plenty of room to randomize the dice, even with a boatload in there.

 

[Xater]

Tom just announced that Onitama will be part of the Dice Tower Essential line. That means it will be easily available and I can finally get a copy. This was one of those games that was sold out immediately in Essen.

 

[antiquegamer]

I LOVE Darkest Knight. I love the dark fantasy theme (it's very Demon's/Dark Souls-esque), the simplicity of the mechanics, the tension of the game. Honestly, I prefer it to Arkham Horror, which is probably the closest game to it.

The core game can be "figured out", I suppose, but the expansions all add additional elements and mechanics that can adjust the difficulty of the game. I would say the first expansion is a must-own because it adds quests, which make the player group choices way more difficult and interesting.

I am going to hold off and get both the core and expansion and put in my list of next to buy. I love the simplicity and the design but I found "used" (open but unplayed) copy of Mage Knight for $38.00 and wife is getting me Crusoe for birthday so those two will be my next but I am looking forward to Darkest Night since I love Arkham. Thank you for your input.

 

[Mista Koo]

So we cleaned up a game that I lost by one point only to be reminded that we forgot to score something that would make me the clear winner!

Also got the expansions for The Resistance that makes it Avalon and more. So far only played with basic Avalon roles but I really wanna try the crazy stuff like the reverser module (a card that reverses mission result instead of a success/fail card) and the defector module (roles that might or might not switch teams multiple times throughout the game).

Oh yeah, I never grew up with Yahtzee (or a dice cup). I've noticed while watching others that no one uses it the way it should be used. It could be because we play in a public place and are noise-conscious, but the cup is essentially used like a fixed-sized hand, not the randomizer in the equation.

For our group usually it's more problematic when the dice fly everywhere, that's why I often just slam them down.

 

[pluginbaby121]

Just ordered Dominion. I think it'll go over well since my one group is a fan of card based games such as Magic, Marvel Legends, Game of Thrones LCG, etc. It looks quite fun and am excited to try it. I would also like to pick up one of the following this week

Sheriff of Nottingham
Ticket to Ride (Not sure to get regular or Europe)
7 Wonders
Agricola
Small World

So far Pandemic, Catan, and Zombies!!! Have gone over the best so it's hard to choose.

 

[NEO0MJ]

I've been dancing around Kemet, Descent, and Claustrophobia and can't decide between them. Can anyone give me a quick rundown of their strengths and weaknesses?

 

[JSR_Cube]

I've been dancing around Kemet, Descent, and Claustrophobia and can't decide between them. Can anyone give me a quick rundown of their strengths and weaknesses?

I can give you my input on Kemet:
+ rules are quite easy to understand
+ game does not run too long
+ supports five players
+ forces interaction and conflict
+ no real player elimination
+ cool monster minis
- unbalanced upgrade cards
- theme is a bit of a mess for me
- confusing iconography for new players

I don't love Kemet as an area control game. I think that the upgrade card balance is a bit of an issue and also the theme doesn't really work for us. It is jumping up the BGG ranking, so I may be in the minority here. I've played about 7 or 8 times now. I still own it but it doesn't make it to the table any more.

 

[SCHUEY F1]

Played 7 Wonders for the first time last. I really enjoyed it especially after you get a handle of all the symbol. I won as well which helped.

 

[NEO0MJ]

I can give you my input on Kemet:

Thanks. One of the reasons I was considering it was the short play time. A problem with a lot of these strategy/war games is that they take too long. We barely last until the end of a game of Catan.

Decided to go with Descent. It looks like it will be a nice change from Catan.

 

[Karkador]

I played Claustrophobia the other night. I don't have the best impression of miniatures-based games, but that one was pretty cool and actually had solid rules and enjoyable gameplay.

But it's only for 2, AFAIK, so it's no good if you're looking to host more players.

 

[NEO0MJ]

Yeah, that's the main problem I have with Claustrophobia. The only way to get another player in is with an expansion and you can only play with three in a single scenario from that expansion.

And i decided to hold the trigger a little longer. Gonna do more research on potential games. While I think I'll love Descent I have to make sure the others are willing to play it as well.

 

[fenners]

I adore Claustrophobia, it's a fantastic assymetrical dungeon crawler, with short and interesting missions. But it's utterly two players only, which is a turn off for most.

It's really not a "minis" focused game, it just has great looking figures. Mivement is heavily abstracted to a room level.

 

[Experien]

First time playing Infamy and Race for the Galaxy...

Infamy, rubbed me the wrong way. My friend always seemed like he had more bidding chips than me. Half of the stuff seemed like it was unimportant or didn't do anything. Scheme cards that I got were next to worthless. And once you get X amount of Henchmen, the game is just a ticking clock of just waiting. I might try it again but seems a bit off?

Race for the Galaxy, now that seems fun. There was a strong 30 minutes of...wait what does this do? But I came in 3rd but I enjoyed the engine building mechanic. We just played the base but I will play more soon.

I heard Roll is much better but how...simplification?

 

[joeyjoejoeshabadoo]

First time playing Infamy and Race for the Galaxy...

Infamy, rubbed me the wrong way. My friend always seemed like he had more bidding chips than me. Half of the stuff seemed like it was unimportant or didn't do anything. Scheme cards that I got were next to worthless. And once you get X amount of Henchmen, the game is just a ticking clock of just waiting. I might try it again but seems a bit off?

Race for the Galaxy, now that seems fun. There was a strong 30 minutes of...wait what does this do? But I came in 3rd but I enjoyed the engine building mechanic. We just played the base but I will play more soon.

I heard Roll is much better but how...simplification?

In Roll all the tiles tell you exactly what they do which means less iconography to learn. The icons are a major hurdle to learning Race so that's why Roll is considered easier.

 

[mercviper]

Yeah probably the biggest thing going for roll for me is that I can definitely get new people playing it easier. Next is that the difference in gameplay is enough I consider it a different game, even though it's similar.

Showing players the reference sheet for race and watching eyes glaze over usually scares people away too much, even if I think it's super intuitive and very well done.

 

[Neverfade]

Added ONUW Daybreak expansion to the mix last night. Interesting new roles, but I think it'd be an incredibly weak stand alone product.

 

[fenners]

Race for the Galaxy, now that seems fun. There was a strong 30 minutes of...wait what does this do? But I came in 3rd but I enjoyed the engine building mechanic. We just played the base but I will play more soon.

I heard Roll is much better but how...simplification?

Race is absolutely fantastic, but yeah, the iconography can make it hard to teach. Roll simplifies the number of icons & replaces a bunch of them with just straight out text explanations. Replacing the currency to build from cards to dice helps tremendously with teaching too IMO, but it's still a relatively hard game to teach to people without direct experience of Race (again, IMO).

Race is the better game, but it's had a number of expansions to help that - it's not a fair 1:1 until Roll's had an expansion to answer/expand on questions/weakpoints from the base.

 

[Flynn]

Race is absolutely fantastic, but yeah, the iconography can make it hard to teach. Roll simplifies the number of icons & replaces a bunch of them with just straight out text explanations. Replacing the currency to build from cards to dice helps tremendously with teaching too IMO, but it's still a relatively hard game to teach to people without direct experience of Race (again, IMO).

Race is the better game, but it's had a number of expansions to help that - it's not a fair 1:1 until Roll's had an expansion to answer/expand on questions/weakpoints from the base.

Anybody played the new expansion? Just read somewhere there's a second new expansion coming out.

 

[hat_hair]

First time playing Infamy and Race for the Galaxy...

Infamy, rubbed me the wrong way. My friend always seemed like he had more bidding chips than me. Half of the stuff seemed like it was unimportant or didn't do anything. Scheme cards that I got were next to worthless. And once you get X amount of Henchmen, the game is just a ticking clock of just waiting. I might try it again but seems a bit off?

Out of curiosity, how many people did you play Infamy with? I've only ever played it with four, and while I don't think it's an amazing game, I still find it quite fun. With four players, bidding can be much more important, as it determines additional things like turn order, where the watchdogs are, and so on. Also, if a player does well, it's easier for two or three of the others to gang up and force them into weaker choices.
It might not be the game for you, but I would recommend trying with four if you haven't.

 

[Experien]

Out of curiosity, how many people did you play Infamy with? I've only ever played it with four, and while I don't think it's an amazing game, I still find it quite fun. With four players, bidding can be much more important, as it determines additional things like turn order, where the watchdogs are, and so on. Also, if a player does well, it's easier for two or three of the others to gang up and force them into weaker choices.
It might not be the game for you, but I would recommend trying with four if you haven't.

There were 3 of us. Of course the guy who owns it won it by a lot. He always seemed to have tons of bids: enough to outbid my one bids and still heavy bid stuff like favor, sabotage, and watchdog. He did those and there was nothing for us to do but really just grab schemes which only made me recover 3 bids (all 4 that I saw). The other player had two rounds where they did nothing cause spaces were blocked and they went to the same location as me.

 

[antiquegamer]

Played 7 Wonders for the first time last. I really enjoyed it especially after you get a handle of all the symbol. I won as well which helped.

I love 7 Wonders but no one in my family enjoy it but me. They said scoring is too confusing ....

Just ordered Dominion. I think it'll go over well since my one group is a fan of card based games such as Magic, Marvel Legends, Game of Thrones LCG, etc. It looks quite fun and am excited to try it. I would also like to pick up one of the following this week

Sheriff of Nottingham
Ticket to Ride (Not sure to get regular or Europe)
7 Wonders
Agricola
Small World

So far Pandemic, Catan, and Zombies!!! Have gone over the best so it's hard to choose.

I would have sold you my copy cheap. It's a good game and definitely gateway deck builder but the theme was not to our taste. As for Ticket To Ride, we have both but we enjoy USA more (with the two expansions added). The Europe map is just too confusing for my red neck side of the family. I love 7 Wonders, I think it has great mechanic and play really fast but my family hate the scoring. We also love Small World but it doesn't get to the table too often. I have been meaning to try Agricola, but lately it's just been solo game for me or co-cop with my brother in law.

 

[StoOgE]

The best Con of the year is this week.

Las Vegas and the show floor is open for a total of 8 hours over two days.

 

[pluginbaby121]

I love 7 Wonders but no one in my family enjoy it but me. They said scoring is too confusing ....




I would have sold you my copy cheap. It's a good game and definitely gateway deck builder but the theme was not to our taste. As for Ticket To Ride, we have both but we enjoy USA more (with the two expansions added). The Europe map is just too confusing for my red neck side of the family. I love 7 Wonders, I think it has great mechanic and play really fast but my family hate the scoring. We also love Small World but it doesn't get to the table too often. I have been meaning to try Agricola, but lately it's just been solo game for me or co-cop with my brother in law.

I never thought to ask anyone. Thank you for the offer though. Hopefully my group likes it since the Game of Thrones LCG has gone over well. Speaking of which does anyone here get into that? I've been considering ordering the house expansions and wondered if they were truly worth it.

 

[SillyEskimo]

Big game order submitted. This is entirely made up of card games, a first for any type of order form me.

Warhammer Conquest War Packs:
Howl of Blackmane
The Scourge
Gift of the Ethereals
Zogwort's Curse

Smash Up Expansion:
Pretty Pretty Smash Up

Legendary Marvel:
Core Set
Dark City
Villains
Fantastic Four
Guardians of the Galaxy
Paint the Town Red
Fear Itself

I do love a big game order! Still no Zombicide expansions in the wild or else I would've happily grabbed both of those too

 

[UpperCaseN]

How did everybody's Ides of Math Trade results go? I got Castle Ravenloft and amazon gift cards. 3/5 trades

 

[Karkador]

Weee, new games:

Deus
Polis: Fight for the Hegemony
D&D Dice Masters

 

[joeyjoejoeshabadoo]

How did everybody's Ides of Math Trade results go? I got Castle Ravenloft and amazon gift cards. 3/5 trades

Got Patchistory and Ascending Empires. Im excited about Patchistory and a little wary about Ascending Empires. But at least AE can get me a good trade later if I don't like it.

 

[AMUSIX]

Had a fun game day on Saturday...every game we played was card-based. I've got to get a few more board games into the mix.

Magic EDH: Started by testing a friend's deck against my Kaalia Angels&Demons deck. He did pretty damn well, considering it's one of my hardest decks.

Sentinels of the Multiverse (all expansions + the cauldron): Once others showed, we moved into five player games of this.
First round: Wraith, Starlight, Bunker, Doc Havok, Tango One vs The Dreamer. She got five dreams out before round 1. We got our asses handed to us. So much that we ditched early and moved onto round two.
Second round: Fanatic, Starlight, Tango One, Doc Havok, Bunker vs Apostate. Started out comfortable, Fanatic was able to shut down damage from Apostate early on and never let up. Everyone else was happily building up their character, Tango One taking the odd 21 point shot...then Apostate's relics started coming out en masse. At one point, he had all of them out. Took us a long while, but eventually ground him down.

Smash Up: We didn't have Pretty Pretty yet (just ordered it yesterday) but what an awesome game. Seven players, six bases. We were a bit worried about down time, but it ended up working well. Yes, slow start, but as bases were built upon, and a few tipped, things started moving. The Werewolf Bear Calvary was doing well, and so were the Trickster Ninja.
It seemed as it it was going to be a long, drawn out, several hour game, but then my wife (the Pirate Dinosaurs...or Dinosaur Pirates?) played a First Mate, and added a +2 action on him, making him a 4, putting him out of kill range. The next round, she boosted the mate by 4 until the end of turn (making him an 8) then dropped T-Rex on that same base, tipping and winning it. The power 8 First Mate, then traveled around the bases, tipping over 4 more, winning them all, and giving her the game. An amazingly sudden end.

Resistance: 8 player game...spies took this one in 3 rounds, with the resistance ignoring Merlin's desperate, obvious hints. Does the resistance ever win?

One Night Ultimate Werewolf: Another 8 player game (6 rounds of it). Played with the Seer, Drunk, Trixter, Revealer, Alpha Wolf, Robber, and sometimes the Witch, the P.I. and the Aura Seer. I'm not sure we ever had a round where everyone did what they were supposed to do. Also, we might have been drunk at this point. Tons of fun.

Pirate Fluxx: 4 player game...all that matters is that talk like a pirate came out. We were also on draw 5/play all for a while, so it was a bit absurd.

Munchkin: Introduced a few people to it, 5 player game, ended early because two had to leave, but overall well liked. I'm tempted to buy another version of this (the one I have is one of the first printings).

 

[Dreavus]

Smash Up: We didn't have Pretty Pretty yet (just ordered it yesterday) but what an awesome game. Seven players, six bases. We were a bit worried about down time, but it ended up working well. Yes, slow start, but as bases were built upon, and a few tipped, things started moving. The Werewolf Bear Calvary was doing well, and so were the Trickster Ninja.
It seemed as it it was going to be a long, drawn out, several hour game, but then my wife (the Pirate Dinosaurs...or Dinosaur Pirates?) played a First Mate, and added a +2 action on him, making him a 4, putting him out of kill range. The next round, she boosted the mate by 4 until the end of turn (making him an 8) then dropped T-Rex on that same base, tipping and winning it. The power 8 First Mate, then traveled around the bases, tipping over 4 more, winning them all, and giving her the game. An amazingly sudden end.

This sounds like hell, and I really enjoy smash up. Did you guys institute a time limit on turns or something like that? Or ban Wizards since their turns take forever?

 

[AMUSIX]

This sounds like hell, and I really enjoy smash up. Did you guys institute a time limit on turns or something like that? Or ban Wizards since their turns take forever?

No time limit, and though there were no Wizards this time, we've had Wizards at a 6 person game before.

We're a social group that enjoys the game, so it wasn't hell at all. Heck, we even had a newcomer to the game, (Ninja/Tricksters) so her turns took a bit longer. Granted, there was lots of discussion pertaining to the various beers we were trying (had about a dozen different types from local breweries).

I think if the game didn't end with such a huge bang, and had crawled on with various people picking up points, it might have gotten tedious, but that First Mate finish just made it awesome.