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[Ohnonono]

Have you played something like DVG's Fleet Commander: Nimitz game? interested in a comparison between the two if possible.

I played through Field Commander Napoleon. The scale of the games is so different that it would be hard to compare them. FC:N is very fun but as someone who is more into the tactical level games (squad level and lower) I really love the COH system.

They are so different though they are hard to compare. Even when you go to the "tactical" map in FC:N it is still more abstract than a 40m per hex type situation.

 

[ultron87]

Oh yeah, keep forgetting about Hostage Negotiator. I should get that. I did enjoy Friday, another solo deck builder, quite a bit.

 

[Draxal]

I played through Field Commander Napoleon. The scale of the games is so different that it would be hard to compare them. FC:N is very fun but as someone who is more into the tactical level games (squad level and lower) I really love the COH system.

They are so different though they are hard to compare. Even when you go to the "tactical" map in FC:N it is still more abstract than a 40m per hex type situation.

I hear ya, I just have a hankering for a more nautical military scope right now.

 

[Ohnonono]

I hear ya, I just have a hankering for a more nautical military scope right now.

If you can sus out the rulebooks DVG makes pretty great stuff. I have not looked much into Nimitz. That said you will find no boats in CoH Awakening the Bear . Rifle squads, half-tracks, trucks, tons of tanks, MG teams, Mortars, arty, anit-tank guns, but no boats.

 

[swoon]

I hear ya, I just have a hankering for a more nautical military scope right now.

Hunters is a gem:

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/113873/hunters-german-u-boats-war-1939-43

I hear Empire of the Sun plays well solo, but haven't tried it.

I finished up a solo game of D-Day at Peleliu this weekend and it was mind-destroying great, out of your scope though.

 

[Draxal]

Hunters is a gem:

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/113873/hunters-german-u-boats-war-1939-43

I hear Empire of the Sun plays well solo, but haven't tried it.

I finished up a solo game of D-Day at Peleliu this weekend and it was mind-destroying great, out of your scope though.

Thanks, Hunter looks very interesting.

 

[Experien]

How many characters and what classes are you running?

Keep in mind that zombies only have a movement of two, so you can certainly back up or escape hand to hand if need be. But yes, their defense makes them a pain. Try slotting something to give you extra attacks (brimstone grip!?) or find something like a shotgun that does D8 to hit and damage.

One character, Indian Scout. It was the first game so I had no extras at all. I had my hatchet that gives +1 damage but still, even if I hit, I'd roll a 1-3 on damage and therefore do 0 damage to them. Zombies are slow but seems off that I roll 2 dice To Hit 4 times in a row and I do 0 damage to a zombie.

I am hearing that odd number of players makes it much more difficult. So if i solo again, I'll have to field a 2nd player to make it a little more even. Having 6 zombies against 1 vs 6 against 2 is a huge difference and doesn't seem to scale well.

 

[emag]

Question for BGGaf: I feel like I should get them both, but which of Istanbul and Hansa Teutonica should I attempt to purchase/bring to the table first?

I overlooked HT years ago because I was lead to believe it to be a point-salad game with minimal interaction (we all hated Castles of Burgandy). Having looked it over in more detail recently, I can see I was mistaken. I'm very much intrigued by the blocking mechanics and multiple paths to victory, but I am still a little worried about explaining the rules. I haven't introduced a game this complex to my group for a couple years now (back when we were largely unmarried or at least without children) and I'm afraid that some of the mechanics will go in one ear and out the other. I'm also concerned about how abstract the game might turn out to be in practice.

Istanbul looks like it would be much easier to explain and play and the pathing/Mancala mechanism is interesting and unique among the games I (would) own, but my worry there is that the game as a whole might be too simple and too obvious, even with the varied board set-ups. We own a number of 30-60 minute games that we've played once or twice and found not to be captivating enough to continue with (especially if they have big boxes).

To clarify, we're big fans of Mac Gerdts (Imperial, Navegador, Concordia, and even Antike) and also enjoy classic Kniza, Dorn, and Kramer. Random events and dice rolling are not favored, but neither is heavy accounting. We'll usually be playing with 4-5 players.

Any thoughts on those two games?

 

[Iced]

Anyone know where I can find Raptor in Canada? Starting to get desperate (ie. I might import it).

 

[Gaming Truth]

To clarify, we're big fans of Mac Gerdts (Imperial, Navegador, Concordia, and even Antike)

Um, you'll be perfectly fine teaching Hansa to your group. It's a very classic, non-random game that I love.

which of Istanbul and Hansa Teutonica should I attempt to purchase/bring to the table first?

I own both, but of the two that you listed, I love Hansa tons more. Istanbul looks simpler to teach, but realistically, you'll spend equal time teaching both:
- You have to explain all 16 tiles, all of the cards, and both encounter types in Istanbul
- You have to explain all 6 special locations and their associated abilities, all of the basic abilities and their upgrade paths, and the various "plates" in Hansa

 

[woo and indeed hoo]

You know far more about the latter game than me so I cannot comment on that. Istanbul I have played a half dozen times and always enjoyed it even though I am only now getting my head round the game. My issue with it has been that it uses iconography instead of text on the components. I understand that this is done to avoid translation of all the components into multiple languages as that is expensive but it makes it a pain to remember what all the images are supposed to represent. Coupled with the owner of the game not being the best at game rules [I am being very kind here] it has made for slightly frustrating but fun play. However, if you get your head around that better than I did then I would have no hesitation in recommending the game. What I like about the game is that there are multiple ways to score points. This is necessary as the 'board' can be different every time you play and the turn order can be too. This game necessitates going to Plan B and Plan C because someone else has just blocked one's route. Paying 2 coins to them to share that space is an option but one tends to be wanting more money all the time not less. It's good fun and I would say that your concerns are misplaced on this occasion but you will only know if you try it. Hope that helps.

Question for BGGaf: I feel like I should get them both, but which of Istanbul and Hansa Teutonica should I attempt to purchase/bring to the table first?

I overlooked HT years ago because I was lead to believe it to be a point-salad game with minimal interaction (we all hated Castles of Burgandy). Having looked it over in more detail recently, I can see I was mistaken. I'm very much intrigued by the blocking mechanics and multiple paths to victory, but I am still a little worried about explaining the rules. I haven't introduced a game this complex to my group for a couple years now (back when we were largely unmarried or at least without children) and I'm afraid that some of the mechanics will go in one ear and out the other. I'm also concerned about how abstract the game might turn out to be in practice.

Istanbul looks like it would be much easier to explain and play and the pathing/Mancala mechanism is interesting and unique among the games I (would) own, but my worry there is that the game as a whole might be too simple and too obvious, even with the varied board set-ups. We own a number of 30-60 minute games that we've played once or twice and found not to be captivating enough to continue with (especially if they have big boxes).

To clarify, we're big fans of Mac Gerdts (Imperial, Navegador, Concordia, and even Antike) and also enjoy classic Kniza, Dorn, and Kramer. Random events and dice rolling are not favored, but neither is heavy accounting. We'll usually be playing with 4-5 players.

Any thoughts on those two games?

 

[nicoga3000]

One character, Indian Scout. It was the first game so I had no extras at all. I had my hatchet that gives +1 damage but still, even if I hit, I'd roll a 1-3 on damage and therefore do 0 damage to them. Zombies are slow but seems off that I roll 2 dice To Hit 4 times in a row and I do 0 damage to a zombie.

I am hearing that odd number of players makes it much more difficult. So if i solo again, I'll have to field a 2nd player to make it a little more even. Having 6 zombies against 1 vs 6 against 2 is a huge difference and doesn't seem to scale well.

Solo hero is super super hard. I play 2 always.

 

[Karkador]

If you and your group are into Mac Gerdst games, Hansa Teutonica should be no issue. It's also a great game.

 

[Phthisis]

Put some time into the Conflict of Heroes Solo expansion last night. It takes a while to get used to implementing the AI orders. The smoothest war gaming solo system I have played by a long shot, but in a tactical game that is still pretty complex. It was an absolute blast not to be playing against myself though. As long as it took them to get the game out it works really well and is sort of a white whale situation. Tactical level war games are full of options and to have an AI that behaves with some brains is pretty cool.

They will get my tactical war gaming money as long as they keep releasing the solo boxes along with the big boxes.

Academy Games is great, and CoH is an awesome system. If you like it and ever feel like branching out, I would highly recommend checking out Red Winter from GMT. It's grand tactical (company level scale), but it's got the same type of maneuver and fire support system that CoH has (albeit with different mechanics). It's a really elegant design. I introduced it to a friend of mine who is a huge CoH fanboy, and he loved it.

 

[Ohnonono]

Academy Games is great, and CoH is an awesome system. If you like it and ever feel like branching out, I would highly recommend checking out Red Winter from GMT. It's grand tactical (company level scale), but it's got the same type of maneuver and fire support system that CoH has (albeit with different mechanics). It's a really elegant design. I introduced it to a friend of mine who is a huge CoH fanboy, and he loved it.

I have watches some vids on it. I will keep it in mind!

 

[AbsolutBro]

Solo hero is super super hard. I play 2 always.

This times a million. The Lawman's Badge (I'm guessing you have just Swamps of Dread?) is a one time buff, but it's nice for that final fight. If you're going just two, a Redemptionist Preacher/Nun (so they get a shotgun) is a great boost since you get gun + Sermons.

Remember too that your '6's to hit are critical hits, and therefore ignore defense. A Hungry Dead has high defense, but only 1 wound. So if you crit a zombie, it dies.



In somewhat related news, played my first two campaigns of Imperial Assault today. My party was Mak, Diala, Fenn and Jyn. We did the tutorial mission (destroy the terminals) and Fenn's personal mission. I have to say, I'm not sure how big a fan I am of the game. Firstly, the attack action almost feels like a wasted turn for Rebels unless you're attacking a story item (such as the terminals in the tutorial mission). Standing around fighting is a guaranteed loss and you basically HAVE to move every turn. I ended up losing the tutorial mission pretty badly. During Fenn's personal mission (disarm the bombs) I ignored attacking almost entirely. I literally just moved around and through enemies to get to the bombs and disarm them. Even then, I only managed a win on the VERY LAST round. If I had spent ANY time trying to fight enemies, I would have lost. At one point, I had 3 bombs in hand right next to the AT-ST. I could have one-shot it with bombs at the end of the round. Didn't bother, it would have cost me a disarm and I would have lost. I'm sure that may change as I power/gear up, but frankly it really disappoints me. It completely hurts the feel of the game. Granted, I'm saying this after all of two missions, but in both missions fighting anything, even Stormtroopers is just a waste of a turn. I'd regret taking Mak at all if it wasn't for his 1xp ability that lets me cycle the Supply deck.

 

[bonesmccoy]

Can anyone explain how the GMT P500 system works? I've read the FAQ, ordered a P500 game (Labyrinth), but I'm not really clear on when to expect the order to be processed.

 

[fenners]

Can anyone explain how the GMT P500 system works? I've read the FAQ, ordered a P500 game (Labyrinth), but I'm not really clear on when to expect the order to be processed.

They don't know when it'll get processed. The idea of P500 is 'if we hit 500 preorders, we'll likely move forward with it into actual physical production'. These days, it's usually more like P700 for a lot of games. You won't suddenly be charged & see the game arrive - if it hits the preorder target, the GMT newsletter will let you know & then it'll roll into the production queue....Somewhere down the line, when it's close to shipping, they give out notice that you're going to be charged soon, etc.

It's a system that works really well for them because they have a small but loyal audience in a market that relatively under-served so they're willing to wait.

 

[bonesmccoy]

They don't know when it'll get processed. The idea of P500 is 'if we hit 500 preorders, we'll likely move forward with it into actual physical production'. These days, it's usually more like P700 for a lot of games. You won't suddenly be charged & see the game arrive - if it hits the preorder target, the GMT newsletter will let you know & then it'll roll into the production queue....Somewhere down the line, when it's close to shipping, they give out notice that you're going to be charged soon, etc.

It's a system that works really well for them because they have a small but loyal audience in a market that relatively under-served so they're willing to wait.

Ah, ok. I figured that's how it went. Thanks!

 

[Experien]

This times a million. The Lawman's Badge (I'm guessing you have just Swamps of Dread?) is a one time buff, but it's nice for that final fight. If you're going just two, a Redemptionist Preacher/Nun (so they get a shotgun) is a great boost since you get gun + Sermons.

Remember too that your '6's to hit are critical hits, and therefore ignore defense. A Hungry Dead has high defense, but only 1 wound. So if you crit a zombie, it dies.



In somewhat related news, played my first two campaigns of Imperial Assault today. My party was Mak, Diala, Fenn and Jyn. We did the tutorial mission (destroy the terminals) and Fenn's personal mission. I have to say, I'm not sure how big a fan I am of the game. Firstly, the attack action almost feels like a wasted turn for Rebels unless you're attacking a story item (such as the terminals in the tutorial mission). Standing around fighting is a guaranteed loss and you basically HAVE to move every turn. I ended up losing the tutorial mission pretty badly. During Fenn's personal mission (disarm the bombs) I ignored attacking almost entirely. I literally just moved around and through enemies to get to the bombs and disarm them. Even then, I only managed a win on the VERY LAST round. If I had spent ANY time trying to fight enemies, I would have lost. At one point, I had 3 bombs in hand right next to the AT-ST. I could have one-shot it with bombs at the end of the round. Didn't bother, it would have cost me a disarm and I would have lost. I'm sure that may change as I power/gear up, but frankly it really disappoints me. It completely hurts the feel of the game. Granted, I'm saying this after all of two missions, but in both missions fighting anything, even Stormtroopers is just a waste of a turn. I'd regret taking Mak at all if it wasn't for his 1xp ability that lets me cycle the Supply deck.

Nah, I have both sets. I've played before but only like two rounds and that was a year ago. I do know about 6's but I wasn't rolling them outside keeping the Darkness back.


As for Imperial Assault, it isn't supposed to be a duke-it-out miniatures game. Watch the original trilogy (since it takes place after episode 4), the rebels are sneaking around and hiding the whole time. The only time they have a gun battle is Hoth and Endor. First time They pretty much got rolled over. Endor, that was sneaky stuff and then they almost got destroyed.

 

[Phthisis]

They don't know when it'll get processed. The idea of P500 is 'if we hit 500 preorders, we'll likely move forward with it into actual physical production'. These days, it's usually more like P700 for a lot of games. You won't suddenly be charged & see the game arrive - if it hits the preorder target, the GMT newsletter will let you know & then it'll roll into the production queue....Somewhere down the line, when it's close to shipping, they give out notice that you're going to be charged soon, etc.

It's a system that works really well for them because they have a small but loyal audience in a market that relatively under-served so they're willing to wait.

For something that's a reprint like Labyrinth, it's usually closer to 500 (and sometimes they reprint with less; last year they reprinted a few games that were at like 200-300, purely because of brick & mortar store + distributor demand).

Anyway, Labyrinth is an awesome game. If you like Twilight Struggle and are ready to take the next step in complexity, it's familiar but different enough strategically to be interesting. And the expansion coming this year is going to provide even more life to it!

 

[swoon]

Labryinth is great game, i like the solo AI a lot as well.

A guy on BGG does a great post every quarter that collects all the info about the p500 across the many different places they talk about it:

https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/202568/gmt-p500-report-q1-2016

 

[Dryk]

Got to play a round of 5-player Coloretto last night. Waaaaay more interesting than a two-player game where one player isn't really trying. Final scores ended up 25, 25, 20, 18, 18.

 

[fenners]

For something that's a reprint like Labyrinth, it's usually closer to 500 (and sometimes they reprint with less; last year they reprinted a few games that were at like 200-300, purely because of brick & mortar store + distributor demand).

Oh absolutely - they know their market, they know the retail demand for particular reprints. GMT are awesome.

Anyway, Labyrinth is an awesome game. If you like Twilight Struggle and are ready to take the next step in complexity, it's familiar but different enough strategically to be interesting. And the expansion coming this year is going to provide even more life to it!

Andean Abyss/Cuba Libre etc are technically a different system (COIN) but share a lot of similarities with Twilight Struggle/Labyrinth & are well worth taking a look at too if you enjoy TS.

 

[Phthisis]

Oh absolutely - they know their market, they know the retail demand for particular reprints. GMT are awesome.

Them and IELLO have been the best customer service experiences in board games for me.

Andean Abyss/Cuba Libre etc are technically a different system (COIN) but share a lot of similarities with Twilight Struggle/Labyrinth & are well worth taking a look at too if you enjoy TS.

For suuuuuuure. Love COIN. I got Liberty or Death last week and we played a game on Friday with 4. It was super fun, real different feel to other games in the series thanks to the combat system and how the French start off the map. It also may be the best produced game GMT has ever released. They have really stepped it up lately.

Quick shot of the battle of NYC about to happen midway through:

 

[bonesmccoy]

Oh, so there's a very easy to find and to understand page on GMT's site that clearly lists out what's a P500 title and how close it is to print.

 

[AbsolutBro]

Nah, I have both sets. I've played before but only like two rounds and that was a year ago. I do know about 6's but I wasn't rolling them outside keeping the Darkness back.

In that case, the U.S. Marshal is, imo, the superior version of the Lawman. Shotguns crit with decent regularity and as you upgrade the Marshal gets amazing at clearing out chaff.

 

[Lyng]

So GAF...Troyes or La Granja?

 

[Karkador]

I like Troyes a lot more, though I've only played La Granja once.

Troyes feels like a unique game- it can hardly be explained by "it's like (game) mixed with (game)". It's just so interesting to play something that different (its also very replayable).

La Granja, however, immediately feels like a fan of Castles of Burgundy and Glory to Rome made it. That's not a bad thing at all, but it felt a bit more ordinary.

 

[joeyjoejoeshabadoo]

So GAF...Troyes or La Granja?

Both are really good. With this one, it might just be best to flip a coin.

If I HAD to choose I'd say Troyes. It's has some very unique mechanisms while La Granja feels like a greatest hits album.

 

[joeyjoejoeshabadoo]

Them and IELLO have been the best customer service experiences in board games for me.



For suuuuuuure. Love COIN. I got Liberty or Death last week and we played a game on Friday with 4. It was super fun, real different feel to other games in the series thanks to the combat system and how the French start off the map. It also may be the best produced game GMT has ever released. They have really stepped it up lately.

Quick shot of the battle of NYC about to happen midway through:

Beautiful. My copy finally showed up yesterday, but I didn't have time to unbox it. I really need to get another opposed COIN game in. The solo games are fun, but I really miss playing against someone else.

 

[Phthisis]

Beautiful. My copy finally showed up yesterday, but I didn't have time to unbox it. I really need to get another opposed COIN game in. The solo games are fun, but I really miss playing against someone else.

If you ever need actual opponents and don't mind playing on VASSAL, I have a pair of long distance friends who are COIN vets who would totally be down to get a game going.

 

[Dreavus]

Got Pixel tactics in the mail last week finally (it was missing the playmat which should be arriving today); pretty excited to get some sleeves for it and try it out when I can.

It feels like it's so hard to find table time for these two player games, though. :|

 

[AstroLad]

Got Pixel tactics in the mail last week finally (it was missing the playmat which should be arriving today); pretty excited to get some sleeves for it and try it out when I can.

It feels like it's so hard to find table time for these two player games, though. :|

I guess it depends on whether you live with someone. At game nights they are pretty awkward to play/try to play (unless it's like 'Netrunner/X-Wing Night' which we used to do here at work) but with my wife I get to play a good amount of 2p games on weekend (when we're not hosting/visiting people and playing games with them, which is increasingly rare ).

 

[Dreavus]

I guess it depends on whether you live with someone. At game nights they are pretty awkward to play/try to play (unless it's like 'Netrunner/X-Wing Night' which we used to do here at work) but with my wife I get to play a good amount of 2p games on weekend (when we're not hosting/visiting people and playing games with them, which is increasingly rare ).

Yeah I noticed some folks in this thread having the opposite of my problem!

I think a "themed" night isn't a bad way to go. Maybe a mini tournament or something. That'd work for either Pixel tactics or something like BattleCON, which is another one of my favs and yet another dueling game. My only (selfish) concern with something like that is that I would likely have to be the TO of sorts to make sure everyone knows what they're doing and how to play, at least at first, which wouldn't leave a ton of time to actually play myself. You take away what you put in, I suppose.

 

[Eidjinn]

Anyone can give me a feedback of Eldritch Horror and Dead of Winter?
I like the themes, I like the art but... are they fun to play?

I had a big problem with Zombicide, as I found it beautiful but sometimes kind boring.

Also, anyone have any info about Puerto Rico? Is it a boring game?

Yeah, it's a classic, but does it still hold a place in everyones's collection? Or are there better games?

 

[antiquegamer]

Anyone can give me a feedback of Eldritch Horror and Dead of Winter?
I like the themes, I like the art but... are they fun to play?

I had a big problem with Zombicide, as I found it beautiful but sometimes kind boring.

Also, anyone have any info about Puerto Rico? Is it a boring game?

Yeah, it's a classic, but does it still hold a place in everyones's collection? Or are there better games?

I find a lot of thematic game really depend on who you play with. If your group like theme game and doesn't mind luck base and silly dice throwing then you will have a good time. Same with Dead of Winter, with some group it could be really enjoyable. We had a blast the few times we play Dead of Winter because both my niece and my brother-in-law were both really into the theme. (My daughter thought it was super boring).

My copy of Viticulture and Twilight Struggle show up today along with Mage Knight expansion (finally WizKids is offering replacement tokens and cards). I never order from Cool Stuffs before but they are really fast compare to Miniature Market, but man they sure pack in a lot of popcorn. I almost throw out two small size card sleeves that were on the bottom of the box.

 

[Dimitri2401]

Anyone know where I can find Raptor in Canada? Starting to get desperate (ie. I might import it).

Here in Montreal they have it for 45CAD at Archambault.

 

[swoon]

Beautiful. My copy finally showed up yesterday, but I didn't have time to unbox it. I really need to get another opposed COIN game in. The solo games are fun, but I really miss playing against someone else.

If you ever need actual opponents and don't mind playing on VASSAL, I have a pair of long distance friends who are COIN vets who would totally be down to get a game going.

oh we should totally get a vassal coin night going, it will help ease of the pain of my coin games collecting dust.

 

[Iced]

Likely picking up Specter Ops after work. I've been looking for a hidden movement game and it came down to SO and Fury of Dracula. While I am interested in the theme of FoD more, I have a feeling it'll be harder to get to the table due to the game's length. Plus, SO is cheaper.

Am I making the right choice, Gaf?

 

[Ohnonono]

Ugg, getting pulled between putting in some quality PS4 time or playing some COH solo tonight. Really want to run that scenario from a couple days ago again and see the AI again. That said it is so much easier to hit a button on my console and strap balloons to things in MGS5. The harsh world of a working dad who is tired at night.

 

[Karkador]

Likely picking up Specter Ops after work. I've been looking for a hidden movement game and it came down to SO and Fury of Dracula. While I am interested in the theme of FoD more, I have a feeling it'll be harder to get to the table due to the game's length. Plus, SO is cheaper.

Am I making the right choice, Gaf?

What other hidden movement games did you look at? I feel like Spectre Ops is a really bloated entry in the genre.

 

[Iced]

What other hidden movement games did you look at? I feel like Spectre Ops is a really bloated entry in the genre.

The impression I get is there are three big ones: Fury of Dracula, Letters from White Chapel, and Specter Ops. Haven't looked much into LFWC though - wasn't too big on the theme.

 

[Experien]

Anyone can give me a feedback of Eldritch Horror and Dead of Winter?
I like the themes, I like the art but... are they fun to play?

I had a big problem with Zombicide, as I found it beautiful but sometimes kind boring.

Also, anyone have any info about Puerto Rico? Is it a boring game?

Yeah, it's a classic, but does it still hold a place in everyones's collection? Or are there better games?

I own Eldritch and all but the latest expansions. I enjoy it. My friends like playing it too so my vote goes there. It is quite challenging and the cards are fun to read. I've played Dead of Winter once and it seemed dry/themeless and boring. The only interesting part was the Crossroad cards but the chances that they get to be read can be quite slim. That said, I am interested in giving it another try but definitely not going out of my way to make that happen.

Zombicide is a really shallow game. I only keep it if I want a light evening of mayhem and being overrun by zombies. Since I KS'd it, there are almost too many zombie miniatures to cover the board! But it isn't something I continually play or even bother with campaigning it.

Never played Puerto Rico so can't say anything there.

 

[emag]

Likely picking up Specter Ops after work. I've been looking for a hidden movement game and it came down to SO and Fury of Dracula. While I am interested in the theme of FoD more, I have a feeling it'll be harder to get to the table due to the game's length. Plus, SO is cheaper.

Am I making the right choice, Gaf?

I cannot recommend choosing any "similar" game over Fury of Dracula. FoD is absolutely fantastic.

Anyone can give me a feedback of Eldritch Horror and Dead of Winter?
I like the themes, I like the art but... are they fun to play?

I had a big problem with Zombicide, as I found it beautiful but sometimes kind boring.

Also, anyone have any info about Puerto Rico? Is it a boring game?

Yeah, it's a classic, but does it still hold a place in everyones's collection? Or are there better games?

Eldritch Horror and Dead of Winter are both mechanically uninteresting, although not as bad as Zombicide.

Puerto Rico is mechanically interesting, but has a dry theme and presentation. It's still a solid game, though I feel that Race for the Galaxy has largely supplanted it by removing the player order problem, reducing fiddliness, and adding variability.

That said, your interests may or may not line up with any of the above games. What are you looking for in a board game? Social interaction? Complexity? Cooperation? Competition? Big, random battles? Zero-luck? Predicting/incenting opponents' moves? A fleshed-out story? An abstract game of pure logic?

 

[Ohnonono]

Random war game thought spewing out of my brain. I certainly have not played all tactical systems, but from the few I have (and more I have looked into) it seems like Conflict of Heroes is one of the only games that addresses the weird disconnect between the time a turn is supposed to represent and unit movement.

In most of these games when you activate a unit during your turn you can move it using its movement value (simple example. my infantry has 6 MV and I move it 6 hexes on a clear field.) Basically your dudes are hauling ass the whole turn, and you have 2 points of interaction you are determining, the start and the ending hex. Most games have opportunity fire rules so if you do run out in a field the enemy can decide to shoot at your dumb ass and stop you in the field or kill you. All well and good, but it creates weird situations like running a guy across a field to make a unit spent by op firing at you, then running another unit (maybe in a way that would be much more vulnerable) across with no worries. It also creates situations where you can in a shaken state and then just haul ass across what seems like a stupid amount of terrain and eliminate it. Lock N Load seems particularly bad about this.

In CoH you are spending action points to move one hex at a time (with the exception of vehicles which have bonus moves on some terrain that may get them up to 3 hexes.) at that point the enemy gets a turn to react and if you want you can continue moving. This shorter back and forth makes it so op fire rules aren't really necessary and you really cannot run decoy units out with absolute certainty that the other player cant shift fire to the more vulnerable unit or maybe even hit both.

For games whose players seem to get nuts about the armor value on tanks, range of weapons and such this seems like a very common oversight that to my knowledge only CoH seems to try to solve.

Complex games complex problems I suppose.

 

[antiquegamer]

As for Imperial Assault, it isn't supposed to be a duke-it-out miniatures game. Watch the original trilogy (since it takes place after episode 4), the rebels are sneaking around and hiding the whole time. The only time they have a gun battle is Hoth and Endor. First time They pretty much got rolled over. Endor, that was sneaky stuff and then they almost got destroyed.

Also if you have play Descent 2, it owes a lot of the mechanic from that game which really promote moving and complete objective more than mowing down opponent minis. I like Imperial Assault a lot more and the back and forth activation make it more tactical than Descent 2.

Likely picking up Specter Ops after work. I've been looking for a hidden movement game and it came down to SO and Fury of Dracula. While I am interested in the theme of FoD more, I have a feeling it'll be harder to get to the table due to the game's length. Plus, SO is cheaper.

Am I making the right choice, Gaf?

I cannot recommend choosing any "similar" game over Fury of Dracula. FoD is absolutely fantastic.

I got Fury for my daughter this past Christmas but I think being so young she just doesn't seem to enjoy the old vampire theme or have less connection to it. Fury is an excellent game but we both find Specter Ops to very good when you want a quick game. Fury can run kind of long and with 4 hunter players, vampire turn can sometimes be very boring. Fury is definitely a better game of the two, I personally found Specter Ops to be way more expensive than it should for the components you are getting.

Ugg, getting pulled between putting in some quality PS4 time or playing some COH solo tonight. Really want to run that scenario from a couple days ago again and see the AI again. That said it is so much easier to hit a button on my console and strap balloons to things in MGS5. The harsh world of a working dad who is tired at night.

Lately, I found I would rather spend time setting up board game than playing video game. (Must be old age) Though last night after all day cleaning out the garage I found it hard to set up Viticulture for a solo run. That solo expansion for CoH is on my next month to get board games, my son play a few games of CoH and really enjoy it now that he moved away from home the game is sitting unplay on the shelf.

 

[Ohnonono]

The impression I get is there are three big ones: Fury of Dracula, Letters from White Chapel, and Specter Ops. Haven't looked much into LFWC though - wasn't too big on the theme.

I have heard only good things about FoD.

 

[Iced]

I have heard only good things about FoD.

Same, and if it were up to me I would get Fury of Dracula over Specter Ops, but I have a feeling I will have a tougher time getting FoD to the table, especially given its length.

 

[Ohnonono]

Same, and if it were up to me I would get Fury of Dracula over Specter Ops, but I have a feeling I will have a tougher time getting FoD to the table, especially given its length.

As someone who owns Eldritch Horror and never plays it because I own all of the Elder Sign stuff I totally get that!