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New Board Gaming |OT2| On Tables, Off Topic
- Thread starter Karkador
- Start date
I'd have to side with Zee on that Bloodborne review. The game sounds way too swingy and randomness on top of randomness. A lot of the mechanics just don't seem to mesh well.
The excuse the others gave for it being too random, "it's only a 30 minute game!", really doesn't make sense for an ordinary gamer who has to not only spend time on the game, but also money, space, etc.
If you want good push your luck, I think Incan Gold and Can't Stop are still the gold standard. Welcome to the Dungeon is also a pretty good new addition.
The excuse the others gave for it being too random, "it's only a 30 minute game!", really doesn't make sense for an ordinary gamer who has to not only spend time on the game, but also money, space, etc.
If you want good push your luck, I think Incan Gold and Can't Stop are still the gold standard. Welcome to the Dungeon is also a pretty good new addition.
sasimirobot
Junior Member
Splendor is such a awesome game! I remember the first time I looked into it, theme seemed dry, kinda abstract; put it on the back burner of games I should get only because it won awards and so why not try it?
Months later...
WOW! This game delivers on so many levels. First of all, it is very easy to teach and draw people into it. Language independent, nice chips, clean cards, easy set up. Also the game play from 2-4 players can change so much. Its almost like it's not the same game once it hits 4. I have seen and tried so many different strategies, that even after 20+ plays I am still not sure what really works. That may seem bad to some, but I feel that any game that lets you win using on the fly techniques according to who you are playing with is awesome!
I can't wait to try another 4 player game including my GF, she thinks she is hot shit in this game, but I think she will meet her match soon, and it won't be me ( I never win this game).
We call the game group champion of this game the "choc blocker", because of the brown jewels. Who will win at the next meet up between these 2 arrogant champions? Who knows? But I can't wait to find out.
Months later...
WOW! This game delivers on so many levels. First of all, it is very easy to teach and draw people into it. Language independent, nice chips, clean cards, easy set up. Also the game play from 2-4 players can change so much. Its almost like it's not the same game once it hits 4. I have seen and tried so many different strategies, that even after 20+ plays I am still not sure what really works. That may seem bad to some, but I feel that any game that lets you win using on the fly techniques according to who you are playing with is awesome!
I can't wait to try another 4 player game including my GF, she thinks she is hot shit in this game, but I think she will meet her match soon, and it won't be me ( I never win this game).
We call the game group champion of this game the "choc blocker", because of the brown jewels. Who will win at the next meet up between these 2 arrogant champions? Who knows? But I can't wait to find out.
SapphiCine
Member
All the games I wanted from the B&N clearance are gone. *wipes sweat* Don't need that temptation now.
Affeinvasion
Member
As a solo experience, I think they're fine, but when I start losing to someone because their first two dice rolls were great, I'm not really having fun. It always seems that if you roll well on the first roll, that's what really determines how far you can go in those types of games.
Not to get off topic but the games rewarded those who paid attention & were ready and not just running head first into battle, throwing caution to the wind. While I don't think this type of game can 100% mimic it, it sounds like it captures the same vibe of trying to think ahead with what you are using the and the risk that goes along with it.
Do you back out with all your points and score/better equip or do you risk to to make sure you get the kill and extra points?
Castef
Banned
FWIW, Knizia's Ra combines push-your-luck with auction mechanics and is an amazing multiplayer game.
BattleMonkey
Member
By concept of risk, it matches the game's soul system, but the game itself also really doesn't sound that interesting and with such a quick play and harsh random factor.... sounds more frustrating than anything.
NuffDREW4two
Member
Thanks for the heads up, I grabbed a copy... which I wasn't planning on doing.
Edit: Still 8 left in Canada as of 6:45 Pacific. Don't think I'll ever get any POD packs, though. Ah well, even the base set will be fun. Just checked out my FLGS and no luck with the POD.
Edit 2: Ugh, now to decide if I want to spend $30 CAD on Mission pack 1 and the Deathwing expansions.
antiquegamer
Member
Ugh I didn't know they were doing another clearance. Probably a good thing, last clearance I bought so many games I haven't even open.
EYEL1NER
Member
Potion Explosion players: What is the highest score you have gotten? I played my second game earlier and got to wondering what a really high score is after I blew my opponents out of the water (75 to me, 52 each to the other two players).
When someone said that they thought that FFG had stopped printing the Death Angel expansions during Labor Day weekend, before the official FFG/GW news dropped, I mentioned that I decided to order the Tyranid pack and Mission Pack 1 while putting together a CardHaus order. Well, the order arrived today, with no Tyranid pack in it. I sent them an email and am sure that they will refund me for it, but there's no chance that I'll be getting it after the mad rush a couple days ago. So I guess I'll just be stuck with only the Mission Pack 1.
I've got to find some good Dominion tutorials tonight. The owner of the local store asked if I would help demo it for a workshop he's got setup at an education assistance type place tomorrow (like, helping kids with learning disabilities or kids who have problems focusing or kids who just don't like to read and stuff). He'll be taking comics to introduce to kids who aren't interested in reading or have problems with it, and some model kits to teach attention to detail and patience, and some games. I have never played Dominion but have played four or five other deckbuilders and figured that this being the original, that it would be no problem. I mean, people joke all the time about Dominion just being a mechanic that other people turned into actual games. But there are no rule books that I can find online and online rules summaries in the BGG files. And those summaries don't make it look as simple as I expected (like, as simple as Star Realms). Plus I'm just not that good at teaching games to other people anyway, and I've got to teach this to people who may have trouble paying attention or comprehending. So I am stressing out over it.
Kind of wishing I hadn't volunteered now, especially since it is X-Wing night. I just don't want to get there and fumble through it and make the local store look bad.
EDIT: Big news for me on the KS front, from my emails that I checked literally second after posting: Secret Hitler will be here tomorrow, my deluxe edition of Codex was just assigned a tracking number, and Mythos Tales shipped. I'm sure that Mythos Tales shipping will be good news for the guy who was wanting more Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective a couple weeks back, since that means it is closer to being sold in stores now.
I'm glad to be getting Codex and Mythos Tales and am glad to just finally be (mostly) done with Secret Hitler and their company (I say almost, since I am 99.9% sure that I will be one of the ones without the CAH Facism pack in the box, and might have defects with my box. But I just want to be finished with them so I don't have to deal with them anymore. This KS left a sour taste in my mouth regarding Max Temkin and his operation).
When someone said that they thought that FFG had stopped printing the Death Angel expansions during Labor Day weekend, before the official FFG/GW news dropped, I mentioned that I decided to order the Tyranid pack and Mission Pack 1 while putting together a CardHaus order. Well, the order arrived today, with no Tyranid pack in it. I sent them an email and am sure that they will refund me for it, but there's no chance that I'll be getting it after the mad rush a couple days ago. So I guess I'll just be stuck with only the Mission Pack 1.
I've got to find some good Dominion tutorials tonight. The owner of the local store asked if I would help demo it for a workshop he's got setup at an education assistance type place tomorrow (like, helping kids with learning disabilities or kids who have problems focusing or kids who just don't like to read and stuff). He'll be taking comics to introduce to kids who aren't interested in reading or have problems with it, and some model kits to teach attention to detail and patience, and some games. I have never played Dominion but have played four or five other deckbuilders and figured that this being the original, that it would be no problem. I mean, people joke all the time about Dominion just being a mechanic that other people turned into actual games. But there are no rule books that I can find online and online rules summaries in the BGG files. And those summaries don't make it look as simple as I expected (like, as simple as Star Realms). Plus I'm just not that good at teaching games to other people anyway, and I've got to teach this to people who may have trouble paying attention or comprehending. So I am stressing out over it.
Kind of wishing I hadn't volunteered now, especially since it is X-Wing night. I just don't want to get there and fumble through it and make the local store look bad.
EDIT: Big news for me on the KS front, from my emails that I checked literally second after posting: Secret Hitler will be here tomorrow, my deluxe edition of Codex was just assigned a tracking number, and Mythos Tales shipped. I'm sure that Mythos Tales shipping will be good news for the guy who was wanting more Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective a couple weeks back, since that means it is closer to being sold in stores now.
I'm glad to be getting Codex and Mythos Tales and am glad to just finally be (mostly) done with Secret Hitler and their company (I say almost, since I am 99.9% sure that I will be one of the ones without the CAH Facism pack in the box, and might have defects with my box. But I just want to be finished with them so I don't have to deal with them anymore. This KS left a sour taste in my mouth regarding Max Temkin and his operation).
Easiest way to break down Dominion rules is ABC
First, do your 1 Action, then your 1 Buy with the coins in hand and from cards, then your cleanup where you discard everything and draw 5 new cards. Easy as ABC!
Buy action and money cards early, and victory cards when you get 8+ coins.This is the recommended starter set from rules: First Game: Cellar, Market, Militia, Mine, Moat, Remodel, Smithy, Village, Woodcutter, Workshop
I'd quickly teach each one just to explain mechanics, but then realistically people can just focus on buying what they can afford. Early Dominion is pretty straightforward like that in that buying money is usually best, and most-expensive action second best (unless you have trashing cards like Chapel, or Attack cards like Witch). Actually might be more up-front load but lack of variable set of cards to purchase makes it easier over the course of the game because you're not always teaching new cards.
LunarKnite
Member
I can't believe it took me this long to find this thread. I guess I don't really look at the community side of NeoGAF.
EYEL1NER
Member
Okay, that seems pretty simple, thanks. It seems like every other deckbuilder I've played then, minus some things like combat. I was reading the rules summary and when I got confused when it started talking about the treasures and different kingdom cards, because I don't have the game or rulebook to look at (the owner hasn't opened the copy he is taking and I don't have any time before it starts to dig into it). I'll watch a couple vids so I can get a feel for the setup and things like how many cards are dealt and whatnot.Easiest way to break down Dominion rules is ABC
First, do your 1 Action, then your 1 Buy with the coins in hand and from cards, then your cleanup where you discard everything and draw 5 new cards. Easy as ABC!
This is the recommended starter set from rules: First Game: Cellar, Market, Militia, Mine, Moat, Remodel, Smithy, Village, Woodcutter, Workshop
I'd quickly teach each one just to explain mechanics, but then realistically people can just focus on buying what they can afford. Early Dominion is pretty straightforward like that in that buying money is usually best, and most-expensive action second best (unless you have trashing cards like Chapel, or Attack cards like Witch). Actually might be more up-front load but lack of variable set of cards to purchase makes it easier over the course of the game because you're not always teaching new cards.
We'll see if any of these kids can get excited about Dominion. I think Quarriors might have been a better choice if the game had to be a deckbuilder. I bet kids would like rolling dice and recruiting monsters and minions more than buying land and stuff.
For the base Dominion set, all cards are either:
It's funny to think how many deckbuilders are out there now, and how it seems such an obvious idea, yet it was basically nonexistent before Dominion?
- Treasure, to buy things with (there's a fixed set to buy)
- Action, to do things with (there's a different set of 10 each game), or
- Victory, to score points at the end of the game (there's basically a fixed set to buy).
It's funny to think how many deckbuilders are out there now, and how it seems such an obvious idea, yet it was basically nonexistent before Dominion?
LunarKnite
Member
Dominion surely started the genre craze, but it's been present in games beforehand though it was usually a side thing to the overall meat of the game ala Starcraft the Board Game.
Just in case you didn't see, they do have the rules here: http://riograndegames.com/getFile.php?id=348
Also Quarriors is way more complicated and less intuitive than Dominion imo. It does have cool art and theme though.
Damn you Eric Lang!!!Shadow_FFVI
Member
Is it a no brainer to buy Fury of Dracula if I get the chance even if I'm still new to the hobby and building up my collection? Is it a good game in it's own right?
LunarKnite
Member
From what I hear, yes. Haven't played the game myself, but I want to. It's similar to other games like Specter Ops and Letters of Whitechapel, both of which I've played. I prefer Letters more than Specter Ops. Fury of Dracula seems to have more than just the cat and mouse chase that Letters has, and with the brand new edition, I'd say get it.
if you read up on it and find it interesting go ahead and add it.
given the price is likely going to go up at the very least it's a safe investment for future trade bait
Content is great too. If you sub in the dice you can have multiple games on the go.
SapphiCine
Member
Can anyone recommend a good folding table for playing games on? Space in my apartment is precious and the SO usually has stuff on existing tables.
Hello again Michael
I took the reverse path, I found this thread first then discovered BGGhttp://www.ikea.com/de/de/catalog/products/10290221/
This one is basically perfect. Super small if its folded together and big if unfolded, 2 different setup varieties and store room.
http://www.ikea.com/de/de/catalog/products/10290221/
This one is basically perfect. Super small, 2 different setup varieties and store room.
Haha that's my kitchen table, we keep napkins and stuff in the drawers. My wife has had it since college.
Amazing table, we used to play on it all the time at a friends house, now another friend bought it and I will also get one once I move to a new apartment.
EYEL1NER
Member
Thanks for finding those. I went and searched on Google just now and sure enough it is the first result, but for whatever reason my eyes skimmed past the top link when I looked yesterday.Just in case you didn't see, they do have the rules here: http://riograndegames.com/getFile.php?id=348
Also Quarriors is way more complicated and less intuitive than Dominion imo. It does have cool art and theme though.
I agree that Quarriors is a lot more complicated than how Dominion seems to play, but I wouldn't say it is a complicated game; just not as simple and a bit fiddly (combat). But I don't know what age group I'll have, so Dominion is probably best. I know the store owner was asking if I knew any kids in middle school to recommend the event to because he thought he had older and younger kids covered, so who knows who'll be showing up (and do I know any middle school kids? I don't even know adults my own age, how would I know any teenagers? If I knew ANYONE, I would be trying to get them to play board games with me)? I think the person who runs the education center requested that something "Pokemon" be brought (makes sense, given its current popularity) and he'll be bringing the card game, so maybe everyone will just flock to that and leave me alone.
Friends don't let friends buy Quarriors these days. It's fiddly, takes longer to play than it should be, and suffers some horrible to play setups at times (with the random card pool). I've flipped flopped on it a few times, and it's a great pitch that should work far better than it does in the end. The 'advanced' rules make it better but far slower. The expansions add tons of variant modes, none of which make the game better.
I've bought it a couple of times & am happy to no longer own it. Dominion or even the DC Deck Builder are better experiences (though DC Deck builder has its own problems at times).
Affeinvasion
Member
I love quarriors especially with the quartifacts expansion. Dice masters is a better game but blind buy and only 2p hurts it.
joeyjoejoeshabadoo
Member
FoD is my favorite hidden movement game. It's not as complicated as people make it seem and it's more interesting mechanically than any other hidden movement game I have played. I'd say pick it up now if you get a chance.
-tetsuo-
Unlimited Capacity
So we played Argent finally. First thing, first impression is that it has great components..... And a LOT of them. Holy shit. That game is a monster on the table and we only had 2 players. We played out a 2 player game and it is very tense. Every single action you take is incredibly crucial. Turn after turn after turn of important descisions to make. The variabilty is crazy as well. Each worker you place, each room that makes up the biard and each player board is double sided. Flip them over the get a different abilty or function or spell. You never go through the different upgrade decks in one game no matter how many players it seems. Even the hudden victory conditions chsnge every game. It was a very impressive game.
I like Argent, but it's got a brutal setup time, and it's overly hostile for some of my friends. Wish I could play it more.
Well I'm losing all confidence in my Fury of Dracula order. When I placed it with Amazon shortly after the GW announcement it was listed as "In stock, extra 1-2 days to process." Right after I placed it, it went to "out of stock more expected soon". On Saturday my order status went to Shipping Monday with Delivery today.
It stayed there till about 11 am today, it has now shifted to "expected to ship Friday 9/15, arriving Monday". Oddly it still says "on time". Which is obviously going by some arcane definition of the phrase I'm unfamiliar with hahah.
The last time this happened to me with Amazon my order ended up getting cancelled because they didn't receive expected stock and couldn't fill all orders. Oh well, might still happen but it expecting to actually receive it now.
It stayed there till about 11 am today, it has now shifted to "expected to ship Friday 9/15, arriving Monday". Oddly it still says "on time". Which is obviously going by some arcane definition of the phrase I'm unfamiliar with hahah.
The last time this happened to me with Amazon my order ended up getting cancelled because they didn't receive expected stock and couldn't fill all orders. Oh well, might still happen but it expecting to actually receive it now.
Armoured Priest
Member
Was a little late on my Amazon order for FoD, so they were out with a "will ship when back in stock." I let it ride for a bit to see if anything showed up." I've given up and am trying other options. One of my local stores actually seemed to have the game, so I have them holding one for me, and I'll pick it up after work. I'm paying the full retail of 59.99, but that's better than the 100+ that's probably going to happen in short order.
I bought one of these: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Mainstays-6-Fold-In-Half-Tailgate-Table-Blue-Sapphire/51686669
The traditional card table wasn't cutting it for some of the more expansive games. I've used this table to play Fortune & Glory, Eldritch Horror, Zombicide with a bunch of the kickstarter expansions, and Ghostbusters with a decent amount of room.
EYEL1NER
Member
EDIT: Oops, I multo-quoted this ^ but forgot to type anything in before posting. Anyway, if I understand the rules right, placing curse cards during setup is unnecessary using the above starter sets because only the witch makes use of them?
I won't say that Quarriors is a great game, or even 'good,' but I still like it and don't think it is too bad. Chucking handfuls of dice drawn from a bag never gets old for me. It is fiddly though and you make a good point about some of the random setups winding up horribly unbalanced. I play the digital version quite a bit, which is odd because I don't get to chuck any dice on an iPad, but it cuts down on the setup time, the fiddly "I'm going to attack, so let me move my dice to this section of the mat, now they are spent so I move them over here" nature is taken care of, and games are very quick. One of these days I'll buy a couple expansions for my physical box though because I think my daughter would like it.
I own something similiar to this (white rather than black, but same dimensions). I only wish it was wider. It's adequate at 6 feet long, but only 2.5 feet wide. I've always felt a bit limited with larger games.
I also have two 3x3 playing mats, and they always end up hanging over the table on both ends. I really wish I could a folding 3x6 table, but I haven't come across one yet! They're always 2.5x6.
LunarKnite
Member
Hello again Michael
Oh hey there. I've been hanging around the Digital Board Game thread for a year now, and never thought to look for an actual board game thread in community. Congrats on the kid, by the way.
Definitely! I've only played it once, but whew, it's a doozy. Everything you said is true, but the amount of variability is nonsense and pretty much par for the course for Level 99 Games (I'm looking at you Pixel Tactics and Millenium Blades and BattleCON). It would definitely be higher in my list of top 50 board games I own if I got it to the table more.
I just merely ran two 3x3 card tables for a while
then a nice table came in at work and I bought it for $10 but two card tables don't work that badly.
I really like that game. Expansion looks like it's going to be great (if GMT would give it a damn production slot already).
http://www.gmtgames.com/p-356-manoeuvre-distant-lands.aspx
Armoured Priest
Member
I'll give you that. the extra 1/2 ft would be really nice, and would still fit into my car just fine.
nicoga3000
Saint Nic
So I picked up a copy of Shadows of Malice and it's expansion at the local Half Price Books. Anyone ever play this? Looks kind of neat...
Yep I own it. I like it, can be a bit Mathy and abstract. Stories play out in your head rather than FFG dripping in theme card texts (which get old fast for me).
I printed off some play mats from BGG to organise things.
Table space can get a bit big though, I thought two tiles and a couple of decks would minimise table space but the shards are huge and quite a lot of space is needed. Not Mage knight levels though. Designer is super helpful over on the geek.
EYEL1NER
Member
The event at the education center that I was talking about got canceled, so I won't be teaching Dominion tonight. Now that I figured out how to play it, I want to play it though. I'll have a chance at some point down the line though.
Secret Hitler showed up, damage-free, with the CAH pack. It really is a thing to behold, just fabulously put together. It really seems like the type of thing that would be highly sought-after down the line, if they hadn't sold tens of thousands of them.
Secret Hitler showed up, damage-free, with the CAH pack. It really is a thing to behold, just fabulously put together. It really seems like the type of thing that would be highly sought-after down the line, if they hadn't sold tens of thousands of them.
RaySpencer
Member
I love the trading in Catan, what other competitive games would you people recommend that have good trading?