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[clockpunk]

Hey guys, I'm a pretty seasoned boardgamer, but I'm looking for games to take when I move overseas for my new job. Ideally, this means I can pick up several games that are either strategically deep/interesting, or fun in a slightly more casual setting (hopefully a little of both) and will take up very little space in a backpack/suitcase. So I'm looking for recommendations: what are your favorite games with small packaging? It would also work if the game could be fit into a smaller box than its original packaging.

I would have to recommend Chez Geek - if you don't mind the 'mature' theme - Chrononauts, Boss Monster, Frag, Quarantine, and perhpas Trick or Treat - all of which would be my staples in such a situation.

The recommendation for king of Tokyo is also good.

 

[-tetsuo-]

So two questions

1) How do you guys store/display your boxes? I am getting up there in the amount of games I have and I don't want to just stack them anymore because I am pretty sure that the ones on the bottom will get damaged and nobody wants that! I was thinking of getting something like a bookcase.

2) What kind of table do you play on? I have a 6 footer now, rectangle. This does cause problems though with people being able to reach common token areas and stuff like that. I was looking into getting a fold able round table but I'm not sure what size I need.

 

[Leunam]

Kallax from Ikea. This is a little out of date now, since every opening has since been filled with games. I may need to buy another one before too long.

As for table, I use the glass table you see there and a coffee table, both from Ikea. But they're both a little small and the larger games quickly outgrow them when we add more players. Once I move out I'll have a custom table made, probably 6' x 4', so I can do card games, board games, and wargames all on one table.

 

[AstroLad]

So two questions

1) How do you guys store/display your boxes? I am getting up there in the amount of games I have and I don't want to just stack them anymore because I am pretty sure that the ones on the bottom will get damaged and nobody wants that! I was thinking of getting something like a bookcase.

I use the Target/Ikea/whatever grid shelving. A bunch of these basically in a coat closet:

They are super functional and can grow with your gaming collection. ymmv but I think game boxes are way too different and often wonky looking to be something you'd want on permanent display. At least for my collection it just looks like a mishmash of crap even if you organize it beautifully. I put it a closet behind sliding doors and organize roughly by genre (party games, co-op, euros, etc.).

 

[Karkador]

Speaking of gaming furniture, does anybody else hate rolling dice on a glass table? Just the thought of it makes me cringe. Watching rahdo run-throughs where he rolls dice on his glass table = uuuggghh

 

[ultron87]

My wood Ikea table has so many little pits in it from dice impacts now.

 

[AstroLad]

Speaking of gaming furniture, does anybody else hate rolling dice on a glass table? Just the thought of it makes me cringe. Watching rahdo run-throughs where he rolls dice on his glass table = uuuggghh

Why exactly?

I use a Dwarven Sweatshoppe dice tray usually (too bad they're no longer around) but never really thought of it as a glass-table thing.

 

[anarckitty]

Speaking of gaming furniture, does anybody else hate rolling dice on a glass table? Just the thought of it makes me cringe. Watching rahdo run-throughs where he rolls dice on his glass table = uuuggghh

Like nails on a chalkboard. My husband and I bought a decent sized picture frame and lined the inside with red felt so we could use it to roll dice.

 

[sasimirobot]

I have 1 or 2 games that I know I will never touch again, problem is I live in China, shipping and whatnot will cost a bit of money. I know there might be people in this thread that as far I know is good people. I am willing to trade or give away, not for money but for intresting offers. Hit me up

 

[BattleMonkey]

Any type of shelving works as so long as you have maybe like 4/5 boxes stacked most. Most of the boxes are rigid enough to have stuff stacked on them a bit as long as it doesn't go overkill.

 

[Neverfade]

#TeamVertical

 

[Karkador]

Why exactly?

I use a Dwarven Sweatshoppe dice tray usually (too bad they're no longer around) but never really thought of it as a glass-table thing.

Justice for the Dwarven people, that sweatshop is closed!

Serious answer: The typical plastic die bounces a lot on a glass table, and is pretty loud...something about the particular frequency of the sound and the extra bounce to it is, like anarckitty said, nails on a chalkboard...or like that feeling when your teeth accidentally tap the rim of a glass.

I suppose certain wooden dice would be fine on a glass table (like the dice that come with Steam Park), because they're lighter and just don't make the same sort of impact. But few games use wooden dice. I like how they feel.

 

[AstroLad]

Oh yeah haha...never bothered by the noise but definitely notice the bouncing. More randomness!

 

[Leunam]

Speaking of gaming furniture, does anybody else hate rolling dice on a glass table? Just the thought of it makes me cringe. Watching rahdo run-throughs where he rolls dice on his glass table = uuuggghh

We use a self-healing mat that I bought for all my model building. Almost no noise and prevents the dice from rolling really far.

 

[Experien]

I'm not in a remotely permanent place so I have a small (but long), old TV stand that I got most of my games on and a few in my closet. Not ideal but it gets the job done.

 

[Phthisis]

RE: displaying games. I display mine horizontally (meaning bottom of box to bottom of shelf) and stack on top. Typically, yes, weight on top will ruin the boxes on the bottom. However, I usually stack heaviest box to lightest box, bottom to top. Also, GMT uses like the thickest cardboard in the business for their games, so those usually make up the base of my stacks, with lighter games like Settlers (for example) going on the top. Worked great so far. No boxes have been ruined.

RE: dice on glass tables. Hate it. Got rid of my glass table for that reason alone. Painful to the ears.

 

[BattleMonkey]

Yea dice on glass sucks, we used to roleplay at a friends house that was glass tabletop, trying to roll on character sheets to reduce the noise. Course it got worse when a friend bought metal dice set to play with. Yea that didn't last long.

 

[AstroLad]

Ok metal dice + glass, that's some next-level stuff.

 

[Tregard]

Been playing Dixit recently, might be one of my favourite casual games, very versatile and works with any group of people.

 

[JesseZao]

Just played Splendor at my flgs bgame night. Wonderful game. I'm picking it up next time they have it in.

 

[Doombear]

Been playing Dixit recently, might be one of my favourite casual games, very versatile and works with any group of people.

Happy to hear it, local place has it to rent and my daughter keeps suggesting we grab it. Speaking of, we rented Police Precinct the other night and had fun. It was just her and I so no dirty cop, and crime basically ran rampant on us after about 6 rounds but it was still great.

We then convinced my wonderful lady to play Castles of Burgundy and had a lot of fun with it! I can't wait to play again. We also have K2 and Mundus Novus on deck from the same friend that lent us die Burgen von Burgund.

Re: dice Yeah, that would drive me insane and I don't even have a glass table. I did however make a dice tray from some crazy on sale nonsense I saw at Craft Warehouse last week. Basically I found this $5 frame. The kind that has silly little fake clotheslines and clothespins that you hang pictures on. Whatever. It is about an inch deep. I spray painted it black, took the glass out and layered the back and sides in foam and sticky-backed felt. Works great and cost me about $8 altogether.

Bonus use. If I ever find a bag of diamonds, I will have something to sort/count them on.

 

[Karkador]

We then convinced my wonderful lady to play Castles of Burgundy and had a lot of fun with it! I can't wait to play again. We also have K2 and Mundus Novus on deck from the same friend that lent us die Burgen von Burgund.

Oooh, I just played a 6 player game of Mundus Novus yesterday. The game is fun, but 6 players is...overwhelming and long. I've played it with 2, though, and it's very good and smooth like that. probably 2-4 is more of the optimum range.

The game rules are a bit vague in some spots, though. If you'd like some help understanding the rules, I'd be happy to answer your questions about it.

 

[HappyBivouac]

Innovation!

So I just bought this and played it. Holy crap. You weren't kidding! Never would I have expected such a brilliantly deep and fun game to be found in such a tiny box.

Also picked up Love Letter. The group had a blast with it as well.

 

[Staccat0]

What should I get at GenCon?

 

[Gryph]

What should I get at GenCon?

Dead of Winter
Istanbul
Subdivision
King of New York

There are a ton of new expansions that will be there as well depending on what you have.

 

[Karkador]

I want to play Istanbul. Desire to play, 10/10.

So I recently traded two games for Glory to Rome: Black Box Edition. It really is purdy, and by the same designer as Innovation. I haven't got the chance to play it yet, but it seems like a very cool game. Race for the Galaxy for regular people, maybe! (and I love RftG)

 

[Phthisis]

What should I get at GenCon?

Ortus Regni

 

[Lyng]

Hey guys, I'm a pretty seasoned boardgamer, but I'm looking for games to take when I move overseas for my new job. Ideally, this means I can pick up several games that are either strategically deep/interesting, or fun in a slightly more casual setting (hopefully a little of both) and will take up very little space in a backpack/suitcase. So I'm looking for recommendations: what are your favorite games with small packaging? It would also work if the game could be fit into a smaller box than its original packaging.

I would highly recommend Race for the Galaxy. Its a fantastic card game where you build up your plateau of planets and there is alot of depth with the combos you can do with the various cards.
Its super fast to setup and really simple to play. And best of all you can easily put it in a much smaller container.

 

[Ohnonono]

I made an order from Cool Stuff Inc. on accident (was pricing some stuff out and got slippy fingers!) I called them about 20 mins after the order was made and they canceled it and it was erased from my account page that lists your orders. The charge (made with my debit card) went up as pending right away as expected and when they cancelled the order i figured it would just sit for a couple days then not post to the account. (This seems like what normally happens.)

That said the order DID post to my account and actually came out. I called them and they said I am on the "refund sheet" and they they actually send refunds through the card company and it could take a few more days.

Seeing as how so many people here order from them does this sound like their normal operation or did this guy not understand that the order was actually posted. Also if you have experience how often do they seem to get to processing the refunds?

Any help appreciated. I am prolly just paranoid but I HATE chasing money and have never had a company let a pending charge go through after an order was canceled. It just seems like an odd way to go about things especially considering how fast i canceled.

Edit:the order was on the 8th so it has already been a couple of days. just fyi.

 

[Neverfade]

That's normal. The system is going to push the payment through to your bank as soon as you hit submit. No need to chase money, it'll be back in there in a couple days. CSI is reliable.

 

[Ohnonono]

That's normal. The system is going to push the payment through to your bank as soon as you hit submit. No need to chase money, it'll be back in there in a couple days. CSI is reliable.

Good to hear, thanks. I have had things sit pending for up to 5 days and then vanish but have never had anything post without a refund already pushed though. They seem like good people for sure, so I am sure it will work out.

 

[Neverfade]

For reference, I have an email on the 16th about combining an order I had selected for "store pickup". They refund the local tax in that case and I see the refund posted to my account on the 20th.

 

[Ohnonono]

For reference, I have an email on the 16th about combining an order I had selected for "store pickup". They refund the local tax in that case and I see the refund posted to my account on the 20th.

Cool man. You have put a man at ease.

 

[platypotamus]

So I just bought this and played it. Holy crap. You weren't kidding! Never would I have expected such a brilliantly deep and fun game to be found in such a tiny box.

Also picked up Love Letter. The group had a blast with it as well.

Ha, I almost recommended Love Letter as well, but I wasn't sure if it was meaty enough for you.

The Innovation expansions are pretty neat too, btw.

 

[Dragoshi1]

My Legend of the Five Rings L2P set came today. It's called "Honor and Treachery".


I remember reading about this CCG in a "TCG for dummies" book a long while ago, so I've always wanted to give it a try.

 

[AstroLad]

That's normal. The system is going to push the payment through to your bank as soon as you hit submit. No need to chase money, it'll be back in there in a couple days. CSI is reliable.

CSI is the best. The only complaint I would have is that sometimes they are a little lax on the packaging and shipping East->West takes a day or two extra but their customer service is top notch and their prices are best or close enough, which is all I really care about. I just wish there was like a Platinum spending level past the highest one I could be shooting for.

 

[JesseZao]

CSI is the best. The only complaint I would have is that sometimes they are a little lax on the packaging and shipping East->West takes a day or two extra but their customer service is top notch and their prices are best or close enough, which is all I really care about. I just wish there was like a Platinum spending level past the highest one I could be shooting for.

I think I'm capped at level 7? I don't think I have a chance at getting any higher in the next decade.

Edit: okay it's possible, but the discount has hit diminishing returns so I'm not that concerned about it. More sales for my flgs.

 

[hat_hair]

The Innovation expansions are pretty neat too, btw.

Honestly, I wasn't a huge fan of Innovation until I played Echoes. It just improves it so much.

 

[-tetsuo-]

CSI is the best. The only complaint I would have is that sometimes they are a little lax on the packaging and shipping East->West takes a day or two extra but their customer service is top notch and their prices are best or close enough, which is all I really care about. I just wish there was like a Platinum spending level past the highest one I could be shooting for.

What is the discount you are talking about? I thought Amazon couldn't be beat for ordering stuff.

 

[JesseZao]

What is the discount you are talking about? I thought Amazon couldn't be beat for ordering stuff.

Their rewards program. You get a small % off your orders the more you've spent with them. Starts around .5 and goes up as you meet each tier. Max is 5% off after you've spent 5k. I'm at 3% which you get after 1k. If you order in chunks of $100 for free shipping, you usually can't beat their prices on Amazon.

 

[-tetsuo-]

How are the ship times?

 

[AstroLad]

How are the ship times?

2-3 days east coast
4-5 west

for the free shipping

 

[Icefire1424]

Any OOP stuff show up on CSI? Prices definitely better than Amazon, thanks for putting 'em out there.

Also, looks like I might be eating my hat, just saw that the YT-2400 will be coming out for X-Wing.

 

[-tetsuo-]

I just said, within like the last 100 posts probably, that I wasn't going to buy anything else. Now, I have to buy something else to test out CSI. Obviously.

 

[AstroLad]

I just said, within like the last 100 posts probably, that I wasn't going to buy anything else. Now, I have to buy something else to test out CSI. Obviously.

Yeah and you gotta try out some stuff you were on the fence about to get to $100. Obviously.

 

[Karkador]

The whole "I gotta add stuff to my order to hit the free shipping" thing is crazy to me. I'm lucky that I live pretty close to a CoolStuff store and can have anything shipped to the store for free, no minimum required.

 

[AstroLad]

It's not really that bad. I order stuff for people at work sometimes to get there. I have like $60 worth of monthly Netrunner orders for people here so it's super easy actually to hit $100 every month.

 

[Neverfade]

Yeah, 100 is only like 3 meaty games. Hell, Battle of the Five Armies is soon approaching at 60 bucks via CSI, that's over half just for that lone game. The hardest part is not hitting like $99.40. Dice!

 

[-tetsuo-]

I have been on the fence with the Pathfinder card game. It looks simple enough and pretty light. One of my best friends and his wife seem kind of interested in playing some of the games with me and that seems kinda nice to try with them. Not a lot of setup/teardown. I was thinking that and the first "block" or whatever they are called of adventure packs for LotR. Maybe the Krang xpac for Mage Knight.

 

[ultron87]

Having Magic cards as a CSI order filler outlet is quite useful. There's always something you can get for X price.