I have a budget for two more games this year and I'm having a very though time nailing down which two to get.
I've researched all of them but I need a bit of help from someone who has played them before as there's only so much I can gather without actually hands on experience. Please help.
Cosmic Encounter. This one is pretty much unanimously praised. Tom Vasel speaks very highly of it. I was looking into the Game of Thrones reskin but it seems very limited when compared with what comes included in Cosmic Encounter. That gives me pause despite loving the Game of Thrones IP.
Legendary Encounters: Alien. This one has been recommended to me by my fellow gaffers. One of the best deck builders out there and dripping with theme. My group loves DC deck building, but I understand this game is fairly more difficult. I don't mind that much since I want them to grow in the hobby by getting exposed to more difficult and involved games.
Descent Second Edition: A Journey in the Dark. This one is interesting since it would be our first foray into dungeon crawlers, which is both a pro and a con (uncertain my group will like it). I've heard the first edition is better in many places, but that this one is more streamlined and balanced. The game look beautiful, especially if you paint the figures included. Sadly, I know next to nothing about doing that. Now, a key thing here is that I don't want to have to buy the expansion out of the bat. I'm fairly new to the hobby so I want to build a solid collection before getting too much into expansions. Hoping it offers enough with the base box.
Inis: Also would be my first game of it's kind in my collection. Had been looking into buying Kemet for quite a long while now, but I'm leaning towards Inis because of the praise I've seen here.
Argent: The consortium. I have Manhattan Project and my group likes it. The theme doesn't draw them in as much as I would hope, despite the mechanics in play being solid. Argent seems to have a lot more strategy involved, with tons of replayability, and they may like the art style a bit more.
Potion Explosion: Most of my games are more in the casual friendly end of the spectrum, that's why Im weary of adding this to my collection despite how fun it looks. I'm worried my group will play it, love it and then when the novelty wears off, it looses its appeal. I'm basically worried about it's staying power.
Cosmic Encounter will probably be a very good fit for what you want. Its a gateway to some heavier mechanics, like diplomacy, player powers and interesting card combinations, but if you all start on the same level it just starts fun. It has basically endless replayability due to the 50 races included in the base game, you will never run out of weird situations that will get everyone to think and laugh equally and its one of the best examples of how a game can grow on a group, once they have a better understanding and feeling for the mechanics and start developing more complex strategies.
Legendary Encounters: Alien is a magnificient game and one of my personal favourites. It ups the ante compared to DC, with mechanics that definitely feel more on the disempowering side of things, like monsters you might get into your deck and once they hatch, you might turn into an alien and attack your friend. Lovely stuff and if you group actively asks for more Legendary, this would be a great choice to add more complexity and dread to it.
Descent and most dungeon crawlers in general are a bit hardcore, because its a thinking your group apparently wasnt exposed to yet. They are also very unforgiving. Descent is a very good game, but I highly suggest not using it as a gateway. If you want to ease them into dungeon crawling/roleplaying, I highly suggest starting with Legends of Andor, which also has dozens of fan made campaigns online, so you can play many more rounds after your are done with the ones from the box.
Inis would be a good choice as well, because it has relatively simple rules, yet allows for some interesting strategic choices. If your group is as open as it might seem from the games you are looking at, this should fit right in.
Potion Explosion is a fun little warm up, but I would not recommend grabbing it for the purpose you want to go for. I like using it as a short game to pass the time untl someone arrives or as a game to ease newcomers into boardgames, but I dont think it will give you the kind of experience you are looking for right now, as its not really suited as a gateway from easy to medium games.
Didnt play Argent.
If your group wants more Legendary: Legendary + Cosmic/Inis
If you want longevity/replayability or to diversify your game collection: Cosmic + Inis/Andor
