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New Board Gaming |OT2| On Tables, Off Topic

That's pretty cool, I love thematic stuff. I put Pandemic player cards in badge holders, wife thinks I am a big dork. Also to make pictures smaller put them in a Quote.
 
Right, so let's have a look.

Avdank is a card game for 2-4 players (it's theoretically playable by more, but the balance of rules is affected in interesting ways). The name Avdank roughly translates to "has-been". The idea is that a bunch of heroes (who were once used in our RPG sessions way back) have gathered at an inn, where they brag about all their deeds. Eventually they start a competition to find out who's really a hero and who is just a has-been.

You play with five heroes and compete in five events at a time. All events require a set of attributes (the basic RPG ones: strength, intelligence, charisma etc) so you need to figure out the best distribution of your heroes. However, there are also personal skills that affect the outcome.

avdank_hand.jpg


For example, Torion has an advantage in Board Games, Staring Contest and Gambling because he's distractingly ugly. Kalhid can raise his results by calling on demonic powers but risks blowing up (and thus losing). Silver gets a huge boost if another specific character is in play. The cheater Talath automatically wins if he rolls 1 or 2 (in addition to being able to win normally from a good roll). And so on.


There are 60 heroes and 21 events. One playthrough normally takes about 30 minutes. Currently the game is in Swedish only. We've considered translating it but for now it's mostly for the benefit of those who participated in our RPG years. I have a few spare decks for sale though.

avdank_uppl%C3%A4gg.jpg
 

Guesong

Member
Millenium Blades misses its final stretch goal by 211 $.

What a shame.


EDIT : Nevermind, creator says it'll go out anyways. Yay!
 

Blizzard

Banned
There was some fairly recent discussion here about 2-player games. I and a friend have played about 5 games of Machi Koro with the harbor expansion, and it's quickly become one of our favorites. However, tonight I finally started having a bit of concern about it.

One of the reasons my friend loves it may be that they have almost always won...in fact, I'm not sure I've ever won the harbor expansion, only perhaps the base game. One criticism of the base game is that with all cards available to purchase, games end up being the same every time, as each player uses whatever build order is perceived to be optimal. And that makes sense, of course you would pick what works if everything can be bought. The harbor expansion is presumably intended to solve this problem, since it makes only 10 randomly-selected building types available at a given time.

However, virtually every game still seems to end with the same strategy, and I'm concerned that's practically the only effective strategy. Even with random cards, the same cards seem to turn up enough for it to work. They get as many mines as possible (huge payout, 5 coins per card), as many forests as possible, and as many furniture stores as possible. With only 2 furniture stores, that's 30+ coins for a single 8 roll, and even more if they also have mackerel boat(s). That allows unblockable, instant purchase of the airport (guaranteed 10 coin income per turn) on an 8, one of the 3 most common dice rolls.

For example, my friend dominated the last game with this, and I don't think they ever even used the dice reroll power. It seems to work mostly the same way each game, with some purples and flower cards mixed with the above cards. I could of course attempt to fight them over those purchases, but fighting over the same card combinations each game does not sound super fun to me, since it goes back to the base game problem of a similar strategy every time.

The latest game in particular, I tried a very particular strategy to see if it was viable -- I purchased every red card available to try to steal gold. I ended up getting maybe 9-12 gold the whole game, with a possible 3 coins I missed early because I couldn't use one of the cards. That's tiny, from 12 red cards, compared to what other cards would gain.

In addition, I never got a single 10-12 roll, despite the odds of that theoretically being pretty high (1/6) compared to my friend getting two 8 rolls (1/9 each). Had I rolled a 10-12 near the end of the game, I would have gotten I think 48 coins because of two cards that scored off of the red cards I had. Likewise, in a previous game I had a tuna boat that never got triggered because no one ever rolled a 10-12 (even with me trying the reroll power in attempts to trigger it sometimes, if I recall correctly).

In addition, it seems to me that the red cards may be very unviable in 1v1 games. My friend once held me back a long time because I could never get 4 coins, and I kept constantly triggering a sushi bar to lose 3 coins at a time. However, if you can ever get at least 4 coins, you can permanently counter all sushi bars by rolling 2 dice. The pizza restaurant is a common roll (7) but completely countered by I think the publisher (also 7) since you will lose every coin you gain. If you have the shopping mall you might get a few extra coins, but if you are trying the red card strategy then the publisher will suck more coins and quite possibly outweigh any gains you have.

Perhaps most importantly, since the red cards activate before anything else, it is unlikely that you will steal much because someone will just buy cards if they have coins lying around, until they get whatever roll activates 10-15 or 15-30 coin gains.

Has anyone had success in 1v1 Machi Koro besides the forest/mine/furniture store combination?
 

Karkador

Banned
I'm not an expert on the game, but I've read that there are multiple optimal strategies that also more or less counter each other (because you hit them on different die rolls).

My thinking is that if they are working on something that they need two dice to do (to hit that 8), then work on a one-die strategy and don't give them scoring opportunities on your turn (which, IIRC, is one of the optimal strategies)
 

Blizzard

Banned
I'm not an expert on the game, but I've read that there are multiple optimal strategies that also more or less counter each other (because you hit them on different die rolls).

My thinking is that if they are working on something that they need two dice to do (to hit that 8), then work on a one-die strategy and don't give them scoring opportunities on your turn (which, IIRC, is one of the optimal strategies)
I'm not aware of lucrative one-die strategies since most of the one-die stuff just gives 1 or 2 coins each if I recall correctly. Maybe I was unlucky in more of those not being available. I had 3 ranches for example, but that's just 3 coins if you happen to hit that roll.

If you try to build 1-die store cards and slowly build money, the publisher (7, most common die roll) will again counter you -- in addition to countering restaurants (red cards) by stealing money, it steals money if you built store cards. *edit* The publisher is purple and will trigger after you earn income, so that means you can't even buy things like you can if someone steals with a red card.

More importantly, their 15-30 coin furniture stores required them to roll 8 on their turn, which they did twice without even needing any dice rerolls or extra turns from doubles.
 
You can get most of the supply from art and craft store (Michaels) or even Wal-mart carry a lot of craft tool. The most important really is getting good cutting knife and blades. Cutting board help unless you have good place to cut that won't destroy your table. Metal ruler is also nice to have. Then you just need foam board and Elmer's glue.

This site is where I go to learn about cutting and making board, he also has many foam core plan. If you never make any before I suggest follow the plan one and do a few of those until you get a hang of them then you can move to doing stuffs on the fly. That said it's better to at least do some planning.

http://www.orderofgamers.com/category/foamcore-plans/

Thanks for the link! Unfortunately, I don't have any of the game he has plans for, but I do have a couple that should be relatively easy to make up something for as practice, and the few generic tutorial videos were definitely very helpful.
 
Thanks for the link! Unfortunately, I don't have any of the game he has plans for, but I do have a couple that should be relatively easy to make up something for as practice, and the few generic tutorial videos were definitely very helpful.

Definitely start with a small project so that you can make mistakes. My friend started with Castles of Mad King Ludwick as his first project and I could see that being a 6+ hour task since it's his first time.
 

joelseph

Member
The St. Louis area is a wonderful boardgaming scene full of the nicest and most trustworthy people around. Hats off to the family, friends and volunteers that make Geekway so enjoyable. Their ability to cater to so many hardcore gamers while keeping costs and crowds down is humbling. 1300 geeks, a smile on every face.
 

Xater

Member
Guys the "Spiel des Jahres" nominees are out.

Spiel des Jahres (aka Game of the Year) Nominees:

  • The Game
  • Machi Koro
  • Colt Express

The other recommendations for Spiel des Jahres:

  • Simsala...Bumm? (Abraca...What?)
  • Vollmondnacht (One Night Ultimate Werewolf)
  • Looney Quest
  • Patchwork
  • Cacao
  • Ugo!

Kinderspiel des Jahres (Child Game of the Year) Nominees:

  • Schatz-Rabatz
  • Push a Monster
  • Spinderella

The other recommendations for Kinderspiel des Jahres:

  • Schau mal! Was ist anders?
  • Honigbienchen
  • Fröschlein aufgepasst!
  • Der verdrehte Sprachzoo
  • Joe's Zoo
  • Chef Alfredo
  • Fliegenschmaus

Kennerspiel des Jahres (game of the Year award for more advanced games) Nominees:

  • Broom Service
  • Orléans
  • Elysium

The other recommendations for Kennerspiel des Jahres:

  • Auf den Spuren von Marco Polo (The Voyages of Marco Polo)
  • Deus
  • Arler Erde (Fields of Arle)

I think Machi Koro and Colt Express are great choices. The Game seems odd, like a retread of Hanabi. Really not into the choices for Kennerspiel. I think all the recommendations look better to me than the nominess. I am shocked Five Tribes isn't anywhere to be found.
 

Blizzard

Banned
After my Machi Koro wall of text, I wanted to say something about Tzolk'in. I still want to make mini-review experience posts with picture(s), but I will go ahead and and comment before I forget.

I have the same sort of concern about Tzolk'in strategy always being the same in 1v1 that I did with Machi Koro strategy. I've played 3 Tzolk'in games with a friend now, and even with the 12 blocker pieces, it is hard to get much done by the time the big gear rotates once. In particular, the monuments and buildings seem very mediocre.

We have played 3 times 1v1, and all 3 times focusing on the crystal skulls seems absolutely the optimal strategy. The first game we both tried skull/temple focus, and I came out ahead. The second game I tried other stuff (technology, and getting 20 victory points from a monument), but was way behind, like 20 points back. The third game my friend tried focusing on a heavy gold / resource / card strategy, while I focused on skulls and temples. I ended up ahead even though they got 16 points from a card, and I was at like -9 points early on in the game because of having 3 workers I couldn't feed one turn.

The huge point rewards from the skulls combined with the minimal cost just seems to vastly outweigh the limited rewards you get from cards, combined with how many resources you have to spend time collecting while still attempting to maintain corn.

The little blue plastic skulls are pretty much my favorite part about the game, so at least there's that, but it is a little sad if there is no other reasonable way for us to play it than to fight over who can skull the most. =P
 
I'm not aware of lucrative one-die strategies since most of the one-die stuff just gives 1 or 2 coins each if I recall correctly. Maybe I was unlucky in more of those not being available. I had 3 ranches for example, but that's just 3 coins if you happen to hit that roll.

If you try to build 1-die store cards and slowly build money, the publisher (7, most common die roll) will again counter you -- in addition to countering restaurants (red cards) by stealing money, it steals money if you built store cards. *edit* The publisher is purple and will trigger after you earn income, so that means you can't even buy things like you can if someone steals with a red card.

I understand where you are coming from, my son always win at Machi Koro, to the point that we don't even play the game anymore. It was never a big hit with my family and friends, we find the game rather slow and boring. I thought the expansion was suppose to randomized the cards though and prevent the using of one strategy to constantly winnings. We never pick up the expansion because no one ever want to play it.

I know the game get a lot of love and hype and it was one of the reason I pick it up. I am also surprise that it got nominated for GOTY.
 

Karkador

Banned
I'm not aware of lucrative one-die strategies since most of the one-die stuff just gives 1 or 2 coins each if I recall correctly. Maybe I was unlucky in more of those not being available. I had 3 ranches for example, but that's just 3 coins if you happen to hit that roll.

Part of the strategy is that if they have cards that take two dice to activate, sticking to single-die cards locks them out of gaining anything on your turns. Even if it's a slow gain of 3 or 4 a turn, it's a steady gain (especially if you get something for 1-6, guaranteeing you'll get something].

If you try to build 1-die store cards and slowly build money, the publisher (7, most common die roll) will again counter you -- in addition to countering restaurants (red cards) by stealing money, it steals money if you built store cards. *edit* The publisher is purple and will trigger after you earn income, so that means you can't even buy things like you can if someone steals with a red card.

In this case, you could stick to agriculture and mining cards (the non-Shop/Restaurant cards), and churn away at that. The Publisher only triggers on the owner's turn, so it wont trigger on yours, at least.


I thought the expansion was suppose to randomized the cards though and prevent the using of one strategy to constantly winnings. We never pick up the expansion because no one ever want to play it.

You don't need the expansion to try the different setup - it works with the base game just fine.
 

H1PSTER

Member
Kinda new to tabletop games; I own Love Letter, Betrayal and StarFluxx.

I've also backed Exploding Kittens on kickstarter!

I love this hobby, I'm about 90% sure my next purchase is going to be Catan, do you guys have any recommendations for expansions that I should buy with the base game?
 
Kinda new to tabletop games; I own Love Letter, Betrayal and StarFluxx.

I've also backed Exploding Kittens on kickstarter!

I love this hobby, I'm about 90% sure my next purchase is going to be Catan, do you guys have any recommendations for expansions that I should buy with the base game?
Seafarers extends the gameplay significantly without actually introducing any really new concepts.
 

AMUSIX

Member
OK, so looking for games that work well with 5-7 players. So many great games only go to 4, and too often games that do support more become a tedious slog. Hopefully someone can suggest a title or two to check out.

My group has been playing the following:

One Night Ultimate Werewolf - along with the daybreak roles...we keep mixing up role selections, keep having fun. Easily the best full-table game we've come across.
Betrayal - when there are 5 or 6 of us, this works nicely
Smash Up - I know a lot of people don't like big games of this, but we've always had fun
Wits and Wagers - Just recently been pulling this out...proven to be a blast...though my dog ate the game yesterday

Next time I'm going to be pulling out Formula D...
 

Xater

Member
OK, so looking for games that work well with 5-7 players. So many great games only go to 4, and too often games that do support more become a tedious slog. Hopefully someone can suggest a title or two to check out.

My group has been playing the following:

One Night Ultimate Werewolf - along with the daybreak roles...we keep mixing up role selections, keep having fun. Easily the best full-table game we've come across.
Betrayal - when there are 5 or 6 of us, this works nicely
Smash Up - I know a lot of people don't like big games of this, but we've always had fun
Wits and Wagers - Just recently been pulling this out...proven to be a blast...though my dog ate the game yesterday

Next time I'm going to be pulling out Formula D...

If you enjoy Werewolf I would say you should check out Resistance or Avalon. These play with up to 10 if I am not mistaken.

Do you want to lie to your friends some more? Then check out Sheriff of Nottingham which plays with up to 5.

Do you want to hold a gun to your friend's head and make him guess if it has a bullet in it? Then you should look at Cash 'n Guns Second Edition. Plays with up to 8.

Negotiating and conquering the galaxy with lots of interesting abilities your thing? Play the classic Cosmic Encounter. base game plays with up to 5 but with expansions you can get I think to up to 8 at this point.

Maybe you want to build your own civilization with a fun card drafting mechanism? 7 Wonders is easy to learn, quick to play and plays with up to 7.

If you are looking for something meatier check out Power Grid. It's economic game in which you build your own energy empire. You can play it with up to 6 players and it still works within the 2 hours time limit.Also despite being a deep game the rules are really easy.
 

H1PSTER

Member
Just purchased Catan, no expansions but we'll probably end up buying some in the future.

Has anyone played "Assault on Doomrock"? I'm in an argument with myself about kickstarting the second edition (And getting the expansion), I watched a playthrough of it and it doesn't seem as great as it sounds - it seems quite heavy for how new my group is too but that humour and the idea behind it are fantastic.
 

AMUSIX

Member
If you enjoy Werewolf I would say you should check out Resistance or Avalon. These play with up to 10 if I am not mistaken.

Do you want to lie to your friends some more? Then check out Sheriff of Nottingham which plays with up to 5.

Do you want to hold a gun to your friend's head and make him guess if it has a bullet in it? Then you should look at Cash 'n Guns Second Edition. Plays with up to 8.

Negotiating and conquering the galaxy with lots of interesting abilities your thing? Play the classic Cosmic Encounter. base game plays with up to 5 but with expansions you can get I think to up to 8 at this point.

Maybe you want to build your own civilization with a fun card drafting mechanism? 7 Wonders is easy to learn, quick to play and plays with up to 7.

If you are looking for something meatier check out Power Grid. It's economic game in which you build your own energy empire. You can play it with up to 6 players and it still works within the 2 hours time limit.Also despite being a deep game the rules are really easy.

Ha...thank you very much...knew these, but just couldn't remember them:

Resistance - Have this, along with the Merlin and Assassin roles...I love it, but my friends all think that it's impossible for the resistance to win. Might have to look up strategies.

Sheriff of Nottingham - Only five players makes me hesitant. Is it because there are only five bags? Because a sixth bag is easy enough to make. Or is there some mechanic/limitation that prevents a sixth player from playing. I like that every round has everyone playing.

Cash n Guns - I think this looks fun. Will have to find a good play through video to show the group to get their idea. I could see it coming off as too silly for some.

Cosmic Encounter - OK, this is a must buy. Had it on my purchase list a while back, just never got around to it. I've heard it scales down nicely, as well.

7 Wonders - Hmmm, easy to learn is a good thing. I'll check it out. Card drafting isn't always the best with this group, but I could see it working nicely.

Power Grid - I own this. I've opened the box, taken it out and read the rules a number of times. Never played it, always feel a bit intimidated, and it comes off as potentially dry. Need to just rope my major gaming friend into it and try it out.


Again, thank you so much for the suggestions, figured you did so much, I might as well respond to each.
 

Karkador

Banned
Power Grid is a math game, a very good and accessible one, but if you and your friends are not interested in a contest of crunching numbers, it's not gonna thrill.
 

Blizzard

Banned
I'm a computer engineer and a nerd and I play multiple-hour Euro games and even -I- think Power Grid is pretty dull. Some people seem to love it though.
 

Karkador

Banned
I'm a computer engineer and a nerd and I play multiple-hour Euro games and even -I- think Power Grid is pretty dull. Some people seem to love it though.

Yeah I've definitely met people who are beyond Power Grid, but I think - if there is any sort of mathy Euro game along these lines for 'normal people', Power Grid is still the one.
 
Xater spoke highly of Power Grid the other when were trying games out on Tabletop Simulator, it does sound like an interesting game if a bunch of people are around to learn.
 

Gurrry

Member
Couple weeks ago I posted about how I started getting into dice masters, and shit, have I ever. Ive been spending way too much money on booster packs and starter packs and shit. There is just something about opening those packs that brings me back to the pokemon days.

Ive been wanting to play online with people using google hangouts/skype, so if anyone is interested, let me know! Im not very good and dont even have a super rare, so my deck isnt going to be OP.
 

Xater

Member
Yes, I absolutely love Power Grid. Sure it's mathy, but to me the mechanics are just so incredibly elegant and easy to grasp that it's kinda playable with anyone. Also the combination of auction, resource management and then kinda area control to me is just amazing.

Luchador I told you I'll play it with you. If more people want in on Tabletop Simulator I'd gladly teach it. Once you get it it's the kinda game that is just super logical and rule questions basically no longer exist.
 

Gurrry

Member
Luchador I told you I'll play it with you. If more people want in on Tabletop Simulator I'd gladly teach it. Once you get it it's the kinda game that is just super logical and rule questions basically no longer exist.

Im always down for anything on TTS! Just add me on steam (same name as my gaf name)
 
I love escape. Have a few expansions for it. Just need to get people to play a few rounds, I've found the frustration level is high with beginners.

I think he is talking about one of these escape room experiences.

Yeah, sorry it's an Escape Room :) If you've got links for the Escape game you like, I'd be interested in seeing it.

Yes, I absolutely love Power Grid. Sure it's mathy, but to me the mechanics are just so incredibly elegant and easy to grasp that it's kinda playable with anyone. Also the combination of auction, resource management and then kinda area control to me is just amazing.

Luchador I told you I'll play it with you. If more people want in on Tabletop Simulator I'd gladly teach it. Once you get it it's the kinda game that is just super logical and rule questions basically no longer exist.

Excellent :D
 

AMUSIX

Member
Yeah, sorry it's an Escape Room :) If you've got links for the Escape game you like, I'd be interested in seeing it.
Escape: Curse of the Temple
0Xzealk.png


It's a dexterity dice rolling game, very simplistic, very chaotic, and very fun.

This is SUSD's review, probably explains it best: https://vimeo.com/72980922

I have the base game, and the first and second expansions (the first just for the additional player, and the second for the game changing roles and challenges).

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/113294/escape-curse-temple
 

Keasar

Member
Looks awesome, wayyyy to expensive though. Not available here in Belgium and 140£ on amazon :s

If you order it directly from their store it is a lot cheaper than 140 GBP (195 Euros).
http://level99store.lvl99games.com/BattleCON
It costs 132 USD (118 Euros) to get a copy of Devastation shipped to Sweden, probably around the same rate shipped to Belgium, they have a shipping calculator on their checkout page if you wanna see how much it cost.

Alternatively if you don't mind waiting and if this is actually possible, you can maybe jump in as a late pledger to their last Battlecon Kickstarter which was for a remake of their first game, War of Indines (you can pledge to get a copy of Devastation as well). Create a account on https://worldofindines.com and go to "Pledge" on the top, select War of Indines and you -maybe- can pick stuff like a late pledger. I am just not sure if this works. The shipping seemed also more cheap for someone who pledged to this (45 USD instead of 57 USD from their store) and some of the stuff is cheaper than buying from their store incase you are interested in more of the related stuff.

Edit: If you are unsure (it is still a lot of money), they had a free Print-n-Play demo for everyone pledging to the Kickstarter that people could try, including 4 of the available characters.
Demo
Rulebook
Video Tutorial
Try this with her and see if she likes it. Just need some opaque cardsleeves, a printer and some ordinary cards (to put behind the printed ones) to make a good set.

Guys, i want to buy Battlecon. Should i continue on this path of trying to score a copy of Battlecon?

Short answer: Yes.
Long answer: Yeah.
 
Got to play Ticket to Ride:Europe and Carcassonne for the first time yesterday. I enjoyed both and my group really liked Ticket to Ride. I lost by 4 points cause the damn longest route. I also enjoyed Carcassonne once we got the rules down although it would be better with more than 2 people. One question with Carcassonne where the rules were sort of confusing. Say a player plays the edge of a city tile and places their meeple there as a night. On my turn I pull out a tile that can continue the city. Can I place a knight on the tile I just pulled and placed next to the other knighted tile or do I have to be one tile away?
 
Got to play Ticket to Ride:Europe and Carcassonne for the first time yesterday. I enjoyed both and my group really liked Ticket to Ride. I lost by 4 points cause the damn longest route. I also enjoyed Carcassonne once we got the rules down although it would be better with more than 2 people. One question with Carcassonne where the rules were sort of confusing. Say a player plays the edge of a city tile and places their meeple there as a night. On my turn I pull out a tile that can continue the city. Can I place a knight on the tile I just pulled and placed next to the other knighted tile or do I have to be one tile away?

You can't place a meeple on an already occupied feature.

You can place the tile and continue the city but can't place your meeple on the city itself, it would need to be on the road or field. You can also place a meeple on a different city and then later join them, which is an aggressive strategy to steal points.
 

Zalasta

Member
One question with Carcassonne where the rules were sort of confusing. Say a player plays the edge of a city tile and places their meeple there as a night. On my turn I pull out a tile that can continue the city. Can I place a knight on the tile I just pulled and placed next to the other knighted tile or do I have to be one tile away?

The rule of thumb to Carcassonne is that if the road/city/farm is already owned by a player, you cannot put a new meeple on it. Therefore, in order to claim something, you must place the tile in such a way that it doesn't connect to an existing meeple.
 

joelseph

Member
Finally got off my lazy ass and printed up Mottainai!

Now if one of you kind gentlepeoples would gift me a copy of GtR BB that would be swell.
 

espher

Member
Guys, i want to buy Battlecon. Should i continue on this path of trying to score a copy of Battlecon?

I got the first box (War of Indines?) as an add-on to the Minigame Library Kickstarter (my first exposure to this vendor). Game blew my mind.

I have no idea what is compatible with what anymore (I thought Devastation was, but I missed that Kickstarter, and now I see there's Remastered stuff?), but I'd like to pick up the other expansions/whatevers down the road. I'll need to do some factfinding going into the Millenium Blades pledge manager add-on bonanza, whenever that happens.
 
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