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[antiquegamer]

I played Zolk'in today for the first time and unfortunately it was probably my worst experience at a MeetUp. I have been looking for new MeetUp group because my work schedule changed and I won't be able to go to my usual group. I drove a bit of a way out to this MeetUp that may be I can attend. A guy ask me to if I am looking to play, I say yes sure, he and two other people were setting up Zolk'in. He told me that this is pretty heavy game, I told him I have no problem with that. I went to the restroom (long drive, old age) when I noticed the person across from him was the same one I played Scythe with the week before that not only prone to AP but also doesn't pay attention when the turn came up or what other people were doing. I thought well may be because the person was new to Scythe so it might not be so bad. Well I was wrong, this person took about 15-20 mins a turn in a game of Zolk'in where you only have one action, move the meeple out or put them on the board. Yes, there is a lot to think about in this game but you still should have an idea of what you at least want to achieve. Anyway, to make it worst we were on final leg of the game, one guy decided that he didn't like the penalty in the final round of scoring that he had to take and pretty much said he quit, the person with AP was whining the entire time about how the game was going so bad that all there was to do is to go through the motion (though each motion took about 20 min on that person turn). At this point I can tell the game owner was pretty piss so he said well we should just ended the game as he didn't want to play with someone who want to change the rule at the end and one that constantly whining. It was pretty awkward for me since the seems to know each other or play with each other before. I told them I don't really care I just want to learn and play new game. Granted, may be the owner should not have throw in all the expansions with all new players at the table but still it was pretty crappy experience for all.

Sorry for having to vent but I drove about 2 hours there and back and was quite disappointed. I did like Tolk'in , at least what I got to play with and the owner said he throw in the expansions because base game could be broken by one strategy.

 

[nicoga3000]

Zombicide fans - can you tell me if I spawned these right? Two spawn zones, card draws were left to right, top to bottom for each zone.

This was a hypothetical to make sure I understand double spawns.

Also, if you open a door to a single room (like Quest 0's final room) and draw a double spawn, do you just spawn two cards?

 

[AstroLad]

I played a couple more games of Arkham LCG this weekend, and tonight Mansions of Madness 2e for the first time. Was definitely impressed by the app and thematic-ness of MoM, though I feel like the rules are needlessly complex with weird definitions of "range" and "adjacency" that require exceptions to exceptions to determine obvious stuff like "fire can't go through walls." But it was still a ton of fun and I'm looking forward to playing through the first scenario again since we made a mistake and called endgame after the first time health went to zero rather than the second (totally my fault there).

I played Zolk'in today for the first time and unfortunately it was probably my worst experience at a MeetUp. I have been looking for new MeetUp group because my work schedule changed and I won't be able to go to my usual group. I drove a bit of a way out to this MeetUp that may be I can attend. A guy ask me to if I am looking to play, I say yes sure, he and two other people were setting up Zolk'in. He told me that this is pretty heavy game, I told him I have no problem with that. I went to the restroom (long drive, old age) when I noticed the person across from him was the same one I played Scythe with the week before that not only prone to AP but also doesn't pay attention when the turn came up or what other people were doing. I thought well may be because the person was new to Scythe so it might not be so bad. Well I was wrong, this person took about 15-20 mins a turn in a game of Zolk'in where you only have one action, move the meeple out or put them on the board. Yes, there is a lot to think about in this game but you still should have an idea of what you at least want to achieve. Anyway, to make it worst we were on final leg of the game, one guy decided that he didn't like the penalty in the final round of scoring that he had to take and pretty much said he quit, the person with AP was whining the entire time about how the game was going so bad that all there was to do is to go through the motion (though each motion took about 20 min on that person turn). At this point I can tell the game owner was pretty piss so he said well we should just ended the game as he didn't want to play with someone who want to change the rule at the end and one that constantly whining. It was pretty awkward for me since the seems to know each other or play with each other before. I told them I don't really care I just want to learn and play new game. Granted, may be the owner should not have throw in all the expansions with all new players at the table but still it was pretty crappy experience for all.

Sorry for having to vent but I drove about 2 hours there and back and was quite disappointed. I did like Tolk'in , at least what I got to play with and the owner said he throw in the expansions because base game could be broken by one strategy.

Wow hahah sorry about that though at least it made for an entertaining story -- so many culpable parties. Honestly rather than the very obvious culprits (who just seem to be jerks) I'll pin some of the blame on the probably well intentioned owner. He is likely right that if Tzolkin is somewhat broken in base, you should throw in expansions that remedy it, but then maybe if that's your level of expertise in a game you shouldn't be playing such a heavy long game with new people? Some games an experience discrepancy just sucks so bad and the game is so long that you have to kind of self-police or it will be a miserable experience. This is actually one of the big reasons I rarely play crunchy euros anymore isn't really the time factor, but the fact that I play with a variety of people rather than the same group at similar skill levels.

 

[Koppai]

So my coworker wants Terra Mystica. I'm a board game noob, any places where I can get it for a really good discounted price?

 

[SCHUEY F1]

I played a couple more games of Arkham LCG this weekend, and tonight Mansions of Madness 2e for the first time. Was definitely impressed by the app and thematic-ness of MoM, though I feel like the rules are needlessly complex with weird definitions of "range" and "adjacency" that require exceptions to exceptions to determine obvious stuff like "fire can't go through walls." But it was still a ton of fun and I'm looking forward to playing through the first scenario again since we made a mistake and called endgame after the first time health went to zero rather than the second (totally my fault there).
.

Made the same mistake with health and horror too my first game. Also I recommend going through the insanity cards and taking some out. Some imo can ruin the game.

 

[antiquegamer]

I played a couple more games of Arkham LCG this weekend, and tonight Mansions of Madness 2e for the first time. Was definitely impressed by the app and thematic-ness of MoM, though I feel like the rules are needlessly complex with weird definitions of "range" and "adjacency" that require exceptions to exceptions to determine obvious stuff like "fire can't go through walls." But it was still a ton of fun and I'm looking forward to playing through the first scenario again since we made a mistake and called endgame after the first time health went to zero rather than the second (totally my fault there).

Wow hahah sorry about that though at least it made for an entertaining story -- so many culpable parties. Honestly rather than the very obvious culprits (who just seem to be jerks) I'll pin some of the blame on the probably well intentioned owner. He is likely right that if Tzolkin is somewhat broken in base, you should throw in expansions that remedy it, but then maybe if that's your level of expertise in a game you shouldn't be playing such a heavy long game with new people? Some games an experience discrepancy just sucks so bad and the game is so long that you have to kind of self-police or it will be a miserable experience. This is actually one of the big reasons I rarely play crunchy euros anymore isn't really the time factor, but the fact that I play with a variety of people rather than the same group at similar skill levels.

I agree that the owner really should not have thrown in all the expansions and the one guy that walked out of the game did object to that, however that said the three of them picked this game to play and if you are not up for heavy euro (on a Euro day meetup) may be either don't come go play different game. I also agree with you on Euro, as much as I enjoy it, there really is a gap for experience and in-experience player and if you are the competitive type who just can't stand loosing then it can make for sour experience. I usually don't mind if it's my learning game or first game if I lost. One of the MeetUp I go to there are 5 people I often played with and we agree that we are going to play the same games for few times from now on the problem is we don't meet often enough. I am at the point where I might just invite few people to just play at my house on my off week.

 

[Blizzard]

Sorry for having to vent but I drove about 2 hours there and back and was quite disappointed. I did like Tolk'in , at least what I got to play with and the owner said he throw in the expansions because base game could be broken by one strategy.

I'm sorry about your bad experience. I've seen several different strategies discussed for Tzolk'in last I checked, and I'm unaware of one of them truly being broken. I'm guessing it was the big corn strategy? I can't imagine on waiting 20 minutes for a 1-action turn.



I played the first expansion for Valley of the Kings tonight, Afterlife. My girlfriend still doesn't really care enough about the game to put a lot of effort into being competitive -- I'm not sure if it's the theme or mechanics or something else. We used to play a lot of Dominion.

I liked the base game and I think I like the expansion even better. It also allows mixing the two boxes for variety in low player count games, and/or expanding up to 6 players. You could even do 8 if you're crazy.

One thing about the base game was that it had some really mean cards in one category. This expansion seems mostly to have cards that help everyone instead of being very punishing. One card lets you pick an opponent to take the cheapest pyramid card, while you take the most expensive. Another card lets all players entomb the top card of their discard pile. You can use this to help everyone, or use it when some opponents don't have any cards on their discard piles.

 

[EmpressInYellow]

Been thinking of picking up a Cthulhu-based game for my game night friends, and I'm trying to decide between Call of Cthulhu and Arkham Horror. We all play DnD, so the role-playing and character creation (also all the random phobias and manias) or CoC are really appealing, but I've heard a lot of good things about Arkham Horror. Any thoughts about the games?

I'm trying to get a small CoC game with the Quick Start book going, so that might help solidify things too. Also, any tips or tricks for a first time keeper would be cool

Hmm. Well, they're certainly very different. Have you ever run an RPG campaign before?

One advantage of CoC is that there's a TON of published material, so if you want to run prepackaged adventures/campaigns, there's a lot to choose from. Some even have pregen characters, which might make it easier to take it for a spin.

Arkham Horror is good, but be aware it's both kind of long and kind of fiddly. If you don't mind going for a more globetrotting feel over the highly localized AH, I'd suggest Eldritch Horror. It's still not a short game, but it streamlines some of the fiddlier bits of AH and (at least I think) manages to be a bit more thematically consistent instead of having every weird thing happen in the same town.

 

[Lyng]

Got to play Pax Porfiriana with my wife yesterday.
At first the cards confused her, but after a few rounds everything became clear. The game is fairly simple to play, but due to the "anything goes" kind of nature of it, it takes some getting used to.
After the game we both agreed that it's quiet excellent and it's a game we want play a lot.
I love the fact that we are not like Jen and Rahdo, in that we actually thouroghly enjoy games with massive take that. Because Pax Por is evil! You get to really screw over the other players.
However you often get a point used for victory, as a reward, when someone destroys your buildings, so you have to watch out that you don't hand someone the victory by mistake.
Highly recommend it.

 

[Lupercal]

Zombicide fans - can you tell me if I spawned these right? Two spawn zones, card draws were left to right, top to bottom for each zone.



This was a hypothetical to make sure I understand double spawns.



Also, if you open a door to a single room (like Quest 0's final room) and draw a double spawn, do you just spawn two cards?

Double spawn is for the next zone.
So if Nr 1 is a double spawn, zone Nr 2 will spawn 2 cards.
If there is only one room and you pull a double spawn, nothing happens until the next spawn begins from another room.

 

[zulux21]

coolstuf actually has some board games on sale

it's odd that they have a sale with more than 5 board games on sale lol.

http://www.coolstuffinc.com/page/3023?&resultsperpage=25&s=bg

notable games to me

I need to look into Star Trek: Frontiers and see how different it is from mage knight

 

[XShagrath]

That's a fantastic price for Alchemists! Such a great and wonderfully thematic Euro.

 

[Neverfade]

So my coworker wants Terra Mystica. I'm a board game noob, any places where I can get it for a really good discounted price?

If you're a prime member, Amazon looks to be the cheapest after factoring in the shipping you're going to pay elsewhere.

 

[Taborcarn]

Food Chain Magnate is on sale there, that's not something you typically see.

 

[Nappuccino]

Hmm. Well, they're certainly very different. Have you ever run an RPG campaign before?

One advantage of CoC is that there's a TON of published material, so if you want to run prepackaged adventures/campaigns, there's a lot to choose from. Some even have pregen characters, which might make it easier to take it for a spin.

Arkham Horror is good, but be aware it's both kind of long and kind of fiddly. If you don't mind going for a more globetrotting feel over the highly localized AH, I'd suggest Eldritch Horror. It's still not a short game, but it streamlines some of the fiddlier bits of AH and (at least I think) manages to be a bit more thematically consistent instead of having every weird thing happen in the same town.

I personally haven't run a campaign yet. I've been playing DnD with my friends for nearly a year, but haven't stepped into the GM shoes before. Is CoC a bit difficult to GM for a first timer?

I do like the idea if taking prefab stories and running them at first. We'd probably play once a month or so, so we wouldn't run out lol.

Hmm, I might have to look into Eldritch Horror then. The game store had both, but I'd never heard of EH before.

 

[borghe]

I personally haven't run a campaign yet. I've been playing DnD with my friends for nearly a year, but haven't stepped into the GM shoes before. Is CoC a bit difficult to GM for a first timer?

I do like the idea if taking prefab stories and running them at first. We'd probably play once a month or so, so we wouldn't run out lol.

Hmm, I might have to look into Eldritch Horror then. The game store had both, but I'd never heard of EH before.

ooh I wanted to comment on this this past weekend.

So yeah, as has been said, you could not have picked a more completely opposite pair of games. IMHO it breaks down like this:

CoC - Most time consuming, but also the most rewarding. AH and EH both play and feel like board games. CoC though.. I mean.. Ultimately it has the most room to be truly amazing. With an experienced GM you can create and live out stories that AH and EH can't even come close to. My most memorable RPG game sessions of my youth (80s) were CoC. Hands down.

Arkham Horror - Arkham Horror is kind of in a crappy place now. The game is legendary, and it is horrifyingly beautiful in its complexity, difficulty, and length of playtime. It is also still a tiny bit deeper (kind of obtusely) than EH.. but....

Eldritch Horror - Basically AH for a modern board game audience. I can't genuinely recommend AH any more for gamers looking to pick up the mythos new. EH is just a better game, less complex, more streamlined, faster paced.

The wrench in all of this is AH LCG. It's basically EXACTLY like AH/EH.. that fast pace of AH, the depth of AH, and the mechanics of a LCG/CCG.

 

[AstroLad]

ooh I wanted to comment on this this past weekend.

So yeah, as has been said, you could not have picked a more completely opposite pair of games. IMHO it breaks down like this:

CoC - Most time consuming, but also the most rewarding. AH and EH both play and feel like board games. CoC though.. I mean.. Ultimately it has the most room to be truly amazing. With an experienced GM you can create and live out stories that AH and EH can't even come close to. My most memorable RPG game sessions of my youth (80s) were CoC. Hands down.

Arkham Horror - Arkham Horror is kind of in a crappy place now. The game is legendary, and it is horrifyingly beautiful in its complexity, difficulty, and length of playtime. It is also still a tiny bit deeper (kind of obtusely) than EH.. but....

Eldritch Horror - Basically AH for a modern board game audience. I can't genuinely recommend AH any more for gamers looking to pick up the mythos new. EH is just a better game, less complex, more streamlined, faster paced.

The wrench in all of this is AH LCG. It's basically EXACTLY like AH/EH.. that fast pace of AH, the depth of AH, and the mechanics of a LCG/CCG.

Nice analysis. The one thing I will say about AH to its credit is that it sort of has maybe half a toe in RPG land, whereas AH LCG and EH are very purely Ameritrash narrative-heavy board games. So AH doesn't have a DM or structure like an RPG (though funny enough there is so much upkeep and accounting in AH you actually could benefit from a DM just handling that stuff), but the one thing it has more so than the other two is interesting emergent storylines because there is just so much random crazy shit in there, especially if you throw in even a single expansion. Out of the three, to me it feels the most like you are "living" an emergent story (that may sometimes be bordering on hilarious depending on what the game generates), AH LCG you're playing through a set story (with a few forks), and EH you're kind of just playing an Ameritrash board game. That's the best description I can give of the vibe I get from all the games. Caveat that so far I've played AH LCG 11 times this year, Eldritch 7, (Elder Sign 10 -- the most gamey of the lot by far), and AH 0.

But yeah whereas COC is RPG, the above are just all board games with varying methods of delivering story.

 

[Li Kao]

Mmh, seeing that the first few Netrunner extensions are oop in French, can somebody tell me what I will lose if I skip them ? Is there some form of metaplot in this game ?

 

[borghe]

Nice analysis. The one thing I will say about AH to its credit is that it sort of has maybe half a toe in RPG land, whereas AH LCG and EH are very purely Ameritrash narrative-heavy board games. So AH doesn't have a DM or structure like an RPG (though funny enough there is so much upkeep and accounting in AH you actually could benefit from a DM just handling that stuff), but the one thing it has more so than the other two is interesting emergent storylines because there is just so much random crazy shit in there, especially if you throw in even a single expansion. Out of the three, to me it feels the most like you are "living" an emergent story (that may sometimes be bordering on hilarious depending on what the game generates), AH LCG you're playing through a set story (with a few forks), and EH you're kind of just playing an Ameritrash board game. That's the best description I can give of the vibe I get from all the games. Caveat that so far I've played AH LCG 11 times this year, Eldritch 7, (Elder Sign 10 -- the most gamey of the lot by far), and AH 0.

But yeah whereas COC is RPG, the above are just all board games with varying methods of delivering story.

Yeah, this is a perfect description on the increased depth in AH. Between all of the expansions you have SO MANY different ways of playing. And the expansions are beyond thematic, to the point of actually changing the story and purpose of the game.

so yeah... I mean.. AH is still really hard to give a recommendation to someone who's asking "which Lovecraft game should I play?" but man... if you are loving AHLCG and/or EH.. AH with some of the more choice expansions thrown in (Innsmouth, Miskatonic, KiY, or Curse of the Dark Pharoh) is a must experience in your lifetime sort of thing.

 

[Nappuccino]

ooh I wanted to comment on this this past weekend.

So yeah, as has been said, you could not have picked a more completely opposite pair of games. IMHO it breaks down like this:

CoC - Most time consuming, but also the most rewarding. AH and EH both play and feel like board games. CoC though.. I mean.. Ultimately it has the most room to be truly amazing. With an experienced GM you can create and live out stories that AH and EH can't even come close to. My most memorable RPG game sessions of my youth (80s) were CoC. Hands down.

Arkham Horror - Arkham Horror is kind of in a crappy place now. The game is legendary, and it is horrifyingly beautiful in its complexity, difficulty, and length of playtime. It is also still a tiny bit deeper (kind of obtusely) than EH.. but....

Eldritch Horror - Basically AH for a modern board game audience. I can't genuinely recommend AH any more for gamers looking to pick up the mythos new. EH is just a better game, less complex, more streamlined, faster paced.

The wrench in all of this is AH LCG. It's basically EXACTLY like AH/EH.. that fast pace of AH, the depth of AH, and the mechanics of a LCG/CCG.

Thanks for all the feedback!

I will say that I think you've all made me side up with grabbing CoC first and seeing how it goes. I did want to say that the main reason I was considering AH is that, for a short time, I didn't really want to be a GM and I thought might friends would appreciate a break from the pen and paper style games. But, the more I think about it, the more I want to GM CoC. While the emergent group storytelling of AH sounds really neat, it sounds like the real choice for my group is less CoC or AH (or EH), but CoC and AH or EH lol.

Do you have any thoughts on CoC editions? Everywhere I've read suggests that 6 and 7 are both great and semi-flawed in their own ways. I have the 7th edition pdf, but 6 is cheap enough used that I could pick it up as well.

 

[XShagrath]

I absolutely can't stand Arkham Horror. I don't mind the mechanisms or the complexity, but I just don't think it scales very well. I routinely play two player, and every time I've played it, we just get crushed. I know the win rate is not very high, but I like having that thread of hope to keep me going, rather than the "well, we're fucked. Let's keep going for another two hours until the GOO eats us." I know people say its better if you each play two investigators, but that breaks things thematically for me and turns it into more of a puzzle than I'd like it to be.

That being said, I have loved all of the other "Arkham Files" games I've played. Elder Sign is a great light game, Mansions of Madness is very good, and the LCG is fantastic. All of these (outside of Mansions) are very doable, even with only one investigator. And even when you're not doing so well, there's always that shred of hope that keeps you going.

 

[SCHUEY F1]

Thanks for all the feedback!

I will say that I think you've all made me side up with grabbing CoC first and seeing how it goes. I did want to say that the main reason I was considering AH is that, for a short time, I didn't really want to be a GM and I thought might friends would appreciate a break from the pen and paper style games. But, the more I think about it, the more I want to GM CoC. While the emergent group storytelling of AH sounds really neat, it sounds like the real choice for my group is less CoC or AH (or EH), but CoC and AH or EH lol.

Do you have any thoughts on CoC editions? Everywhere I've read suggests that 6 and 7 are both great and semi-flawed in their own ways. I have the 7th edition pdf, but 6 is cheap enough used that I could pick it up as well.

Nice. I picked up the 7th edition keeper guide. Hoping to play it sometime. The 7th edition books beautiful and reason enough to go with them.

 

[AstroLad]

I absolutely can't stand Arkham Horror. I don't mind the mechanisms or the complexity, but I just don't think it scales very well. I routinely play two player, and every time I've played it, we just get crushed. I know the win rate is not very high, but I like having that thread of hope to keep me going, rather than the "well, we're fucked. Let's keep going for another two hours until the GOO eats us." I know people say its better if you each play two investigators, but that breaks things thematically for me and turns it into more of a puzzle than I'd like it to be.

That being said, I have loved all of the other "Arkham Files" games I've played. Elder Sign is a great light game, Mansions of Madness is very good, and the LCG is fantastic. All of these (outside of Mansions) are very doable, even with only one investigator. And even when you're not doing so well, there's always that shred of hope that keeps you going.

Yeah for Arkham I would honestly only ever play 3-4. It's pretty well balanced at those counts unless you start to crank variance a bunch with expansions (or difficulty, with expansions like Innsmouth, which is by far the most brutal co-op I've ever played). With 2 it's borderline playable but can be too hard, and with 5+ it's actually usually too easy and just takes a ghastly amount of time.

 

[SCHUEY F1]

I made a spreadsheet to keep track of my AH LCG games. It will save on paper too.

 

[antiquegamer]

I'm sorry about your bad experience. I've seen several different strategies discussed for Tzolk'in last I checked, and I'm unaware of one of them truly being broken. I'm guessing it was the big corn strategy? I can't imagine on waiting 20 minutes for a 1-action turn.

I played the first expansion for Valley of the Kings tonight, Afterlife. My girlfriend still doesn't really care enough about the game to put a lot of effort into being competitive -- I'm not sure if it's the theme or mechanics or something else. We used to play a lot of Dominion.

I liked the base game and I think I like the expansion even better. It also allows mixing the two boxes for variety in low player count games, and/or expanding up to 6 players. You could even do 8 if you're crazy.

One thing about the base game was that it had some really mean cards in one category. This expansion seems mostly to have cards that help everyone instead of being very punishing. One card lets you pick an opponent to take the cheapest pyramid card, while you take the most expensive. Another card lets all players entomb the top card of their discard pile. You can use this to help everyone, or use it when some opponents don't have any cards on their discard piles.

He was saying something along the line that someone can just dominated by going for the crystal skull, which the guy that rage quit was actually doing. However, I don't think he was doing it because he knew it was winning strategy but rather because expansion condition sort of forced him to do so. There was a tile that came out during 2nd phase that make crystal skull collecting cost points and at the end of the phase if you have certain number of the skulls you get bonus point (or penalized if you don't). So it was pretty crappy of him to gleefully agree when this condition was on the board but when we got to phase 4, the condition was heavily penalized getting corns (which by then became really scarce) he decided he want to rage quit. Anyway, it was combination of bad group and bad game choice. I actually do enjoy the game but it can be really long with AP players.

I really like Valley of the Kings After Life but sadly it doesn't get to the table often. I like that you have set collection so people can't just go for most lucrative card and the idea of card being lock and have to be "excavate" before you can get it make the game interesting than just play "buy card" get the most ideal card on the market.

Needing a little break from all the brain burning Euro, I decided to start a full campaign of Arkham Horror the Card Game. I already played the Gathering scenario but I wanted to try different investigators especially one that is a magic user and see if replaying scenario still enjoyable. It was definitely easier replaying since you sort of know where you should be going and what you should be doing so you can somewhat try to min-max your actions that said the scenario can definitely be replayed some of the surprise might be gone but it was still fun. The 2nd scenario which I am in the middle off right now is really amazing. This is really the game that FFG should label "The Adventure Card Game" and not the Warhammer Quest. A lot of people seem to want to compare this game to LoTR and Warhammer Quest but this game to me really is more like Pathfinder Adventure Card Game but with all the fun and narrative. You get some elements from Warhammer Quest and Lords of the Rings but for me this is what Paizo game wanted to be - an RPG experience in a box. I can see big possibility for this game with variant of the same locations to add to replay and narrative.

I have couple minor complain and I understand FFG want to keep tokens and complexity down but some of the card in 2nd scenario can be a pain to track like those "Once per Game" effect. I used dice to track all the "supply" on the card (I guess you could use resource tokens but that could lead to confusion if thing get knock around) but I am not sure what is the best way to track once per game action for each investigator. Unless I am wrong, I am assuming the once per game action is per player since there is a location that said Group Limit (edit - look in the "2nd rulebook" and yes, limit means per investigator unless stated as "group limit" then it's for all investigators). Anyway, it's minor gripe and I am sure someone on BGG probably already thinking about doing Trauma card to track between game and tokens or cards to track all the supply.

Oh yeah, ended up sleeved all my cards because couple of the people in my MeetUp group want to try this out. Also as much as I like FFG cards, they printed their LCG the same as Magic CCG card with some type of coating which for some reason make my fingers itch. I am really lucky that one MeetUp I go to, most people enjoyed all type of games from Ameritrash, miniatures heavy to Euro that take 3 hours to play.

 

[sasimirobot]

Mmh, seeing that the first few Netrunner extensions are oop in French, can somebody tell me what I will lose if I skip them ? Is there some form of metaplot in this game ?

You mean the first cycle "Genesis"? It has some of the best cards if you are new to the game, but I think it will be rotated out of competitive play next year.

 

[BattleMonkey]

Got some Destiny starters this weekend, game seems... ok? Not seeing the hype.

 

[BomberMouse]

BomberMouse: So what's the story on Chocobo's Crystal Hunt? That sounds like something I will have to buy.

Haven't played it yet, looks really simple and comes in many languages so I expect it to receive a wider realease worldwide, just like the ff tcg.

 

[Barrylocke]

Yeah for Arkham I would honestly only ever play 3-4. It's pretty well balanced at those counts unless you start to crank variance a bunch with expansions (or difficulty, with expansions like Innsmouth, which is by far the most brutal co-op I've ever played). With 2 it's borderline playable but can be too hard, and with 5+ it's actually usually too easy and just takes a ghastly amount of time.

The one time I played Arkham Horror, we had 5 or 6 people. I don't remember the number but it was JUST enough people to cross some difficulty threshold where the rules had you place additional monsters and stuff on the board, so we had a hard time. Plus our games owner had us go against Cthulhu himself who is apparently the toughest Old One in the base set, so we did pretty poorly.

I've played Elderitch twice and Arkham once, and while I definitely agree that Elderitch is more approachable and far easier to recommend, I think Arkham offers enough unique aspects to stand on its own if you play with people who are willing to take the plunge. Having more control over your stats and planning out your routes around the city makes for a different game, one that I'd argue has more strategy and planning involved. I wish I had people that would be willing to play Arkham more consistently so I could try diving deeper into the muck.

LCG/TCGs aren't usually my thing, but I'd be curious to see how the Arkham Horror game plays.

 

[Moobabe]

Me and my mates played a few board games over the weekend!

Thoughts:

Pandemic - This is king. Always tense, always fun, but a bit lame if one of your mates is overly boisterous and bosses people around (though that's more on my mate than it is the game)

Netrunner - So we half learned how to play this - obviously missing a lot of nuances etc - but I can see how this would be really appealing to people - especially to us as we all used to play MTG.

Firefly - Kind of... sucks? There's such limited interaction with the other players I found myself kind of bored when it wasn't my go - even the FTL soundtrack didn't make enough of a difference.

Citadels - Stand out game of the weekend. Everyone loved it, really fast paced and loads of fun.

Tales of the Arabian Knights - Wanted to love this but it's much the same as Firefly for me - lots of stuff happening to one player at any one time - even the inclusion of reading the story for other players didn't quite engage me enough.

Munchkin - Always hilarious, and easy for beginners to board games to get into.

 

[Experien]

Got some Destiny starters this weekend, game seems... ok? Not seeing the hype.

My first starter arrives today but don't know when I'll get more so not sure when I'll get to play

 

[Slacker]

Got some Destiny starters this weekend, game seems... ok? Not seeing the hype.

Think a 9 year old Star Wars nut would dig it?

 

[BattleMonkey]

Think a 9 year old Star Wars nut would dig it?

I think so, the game is much simpler than most CCG's, and it's turn structure is kept so that not alot goes on when a player takes their action. It currently isn't a game with complicated CCG like card synergies, you simply take one step then your opponent does one thing, and back and forth.

 

[AstroLad]

Think a 9 year old Star Wars nut would dig it?

For the starter sets especially it seems to be perfect for that use case. If you watch the team Covenant tutorial it gives you a really good sense of the overall game. Despite the simplicity of some of the basic mechanics, that video is actually what lured me in. Love the back and forth and there are still opportunities to use deeper strategies once you start building decks, and even right out of the box. But for some folks I think it will get compared it directly to Magic, in which case it's relative simplicity may be seen as a negative. I'm more comparing it to other two player board and card games, but not CCGs. Really big bonus for more casual players and especially kids is also how awesome the art is.

 

[nicoga3000]

Just about finished up with Quest 1 of Zombicide: Black Plague. I like it considerably more than OG Zombicide. Thematically, the modern day setting of OG is significantly better. However, the RAW for BP are much more friendly. The no melee friendly fire and only deal friendly fire with MISSED ranged attacks = amazing. It makes it more fun to go around killing zombies. It's pretty amazing how quickly you can go from feeling completely overwhelmed to "I am in control of this board".

 

[Experien]

Just about finished up with Quest 1 of Zombicide: Black Plague. I like it considerably more than OG Zombicide. Thematically, the modern day setting of OG is significantly better. However, the RAW for BP are much more friendly. The no melee friendly fire and only deal friendly fire with MISSED ranged attacks = amazing. It makes it more fun to go around killing zombies. It's pretty amazing how quickly you can go from feeling completely overwhelmed to "I am in control of this board".

There wasn't friendly fire for melee in og Zombicide, just ranged. Been using the missed ranged attack house rule forever, were people not?

 

[SillyEskimo]

There wasn't friendly fire for melee in og Zombicide, just ranged. Been using the missed ranged attack house rule forever, were people not?

I have since the start. The exact rule actually: only misses hit survivors. Furthermore, bulletproof vests can be used when equipped to save an accidental ranged hit. (From Angry Neighbors expansion? Supposed to be used in PvP.)

I've worked in all sorts of small house rules as well as a loose set of campaign rules between games.

 

[nicoga3000]

There wasn't friendly fire for melee in og Zombicide, just ranged. Been using the missed ranged attack house rule forever, were people not?

Yeah you're right - I haven't played OG in a while, so I forgot that it was only on ranged.

And no, a lot of people prefer the RAW but I don't. I think missing = damage or 1's on ranged = damage is a smart way to fix it. I also LOVE the plastic trays for each character. It allows me to solo 6 survivors with very little effort.

 

[joelseph]

I freaking love Samurai Spirit by Antoine Bauza.

Plays well from 1-7 players.
Relatively quick and easy to teach.
Core gameplay is easy to learn.
Pulling off complex combos as a group to overcome the puzzle is such a good feeling!

Bauza has a place in my permanent collection with both Samurai Spirits and Ghost Stories.

 

[Slacker]

Thanks for the impressions of Destiny. Sounds like a good xmas gift for junior.

My recent family game night hit is Mysterium. Me, wife, and kids (8 & 11) all really enjoyed it. It's very clever combining mechanics from games like Dixit and Clue into a really great "gateway" level game. I'm looking forward to playing with my other "party games" groups soon too. Last time we got together we played Deception (Murder in Hong Kong) and it was OK but ultimately pretty underwhelming.

 

[borghe]

For the starter sets especially it seems to be perfect for that use case. If you watch the team Covenant tutorial it gives you a really good sense of the overall game. Despite the simplicity of some of the basic mechanics, that video is actually what lured me in. Love the back and forth and there are still opportunities to use deeper strategies once you start building decks, and even right out of the box. But for some folks I think it will get compared it directly to Magic, in which case it's relative simplicity may be seen as a negative. I'm more comparing it to other two player board and card games, but not CCGs. Really big bonus for more casual players and especially kids is also how awesome the art is.

I think it's mechanics are largely underrated when it comes to "simplicity". While a huge chunk of Magic's complexity can easily be explained with deck synergy, and being able to plan 2-3 turns ahead.. I don't think that complexity is necessarily eliminated in Destiny as much as shifted. You lose a lot of the wambo combos and OTK setups.. but you now have to plan individual moves and anticipate your opponent much further ahead. Do I flip his big die to blank? or do I flip it to a less harmful side figuring he's got something in his hand that can handle blanks? There have been turns where I straight up passed because he had one die out, and there wasn't a good action for me to take with my dice or on just one of his. Conversely (and this is a true highlight for me), there is a turn where he passed (presumably under the same problem), and it occurred to me that my best action was to ALSO pass thus ending the turn (the look on his face was PRICELESS). I literally left unresolved dice on the table and the battlefield unclaimed as a way to prevent myself from spending further actions (or discards) trying to adjust poor rolls

also played through scenario 2 of AHLCG last night... omfg.. even on normal the difficulty of this game can be frustrating. also thinking that Skids/Daisy might not be the best combo, especially with a single core set.. my luck always seems to come up that whatever I am doing in the game.. Skids will get the challenges/enemies that rely on knowledge or perception.. and daisy will get the ones that rely on fighting and agility.. So I ended up with 4 unplayed cultists (because every friggin location I went to had something blocking investigation) and I "lucked out" by playing the encounter deck cultist. So now I start scenario 3 with 3 doom....

I need WAY better deck synergy (strongly indicating a second core set).. I also know that as I play more, I'll know stuff (like going right to Miskatonic with Daisy to get some tomes early on).. but some of the suspense at this point is truly not knowing what a location holds for me.. so my next play through.. I'll go with daisy (or agnes) right to the university.

 

[Blizzard]

Tiny Epic Quest is up on pledge manager now if anyone missed the kickstarter and wants to preorder the Deluxe edition.

 

[XShagrath]

PSA: CoolStuff has got Curse of the Rougarou in stock.

 

[Iced]

Thanks for the impressions of Destiny. Sounds like a good xmas gift for junior.

My recent family game night hit is Mysterium. Me, wife, and kids (8 & 11) all really enjoyed it. It's very clever combining mechanics from games like Dixit and Clue into a really great "gateway" level game. I'm looking forward to playing with my other "party games" groups soon too. Last time we got together we played Deception (Murder in Hong Kong) and it was OK but ultimately pretty underwhelming.

It's funny you mention these games in the same breath. I've heard a lot of people preferring Deception over Mysterium.

Curious: how many people did you play Deception with? The first time I played it, we did three games with a player count of four, and I was very underwhelmed. My fiancee loved it though, so I was willing to give it another go. Several months later I played a nine-player game, and it quickly shot up to being my favourite party game. I absolutely love it.

I think I can attribute it to the general mood of group I played it with the first time. We were at a cottage and it was a rainy day, so we already weren't in the best moods to begin with (that, and I had forced them to play several other new games that weekend, so they might have been feeling a bit of board game exhaustion). For whatever reason, the next time I played it went over like gangbusters. I'm assuming part of it had to do with the higher player count, but the game should be enjoyable with four, too.

 

[Zalasta]

So my coworker wants Terra Mystica. I'm a board game noob, any places where I can get it for a really good discounted price?

Use boardgameprices.com to compare the prices from popular online game stores.

 

[-tetsuo-]

So my coworker wants Terra Mystica. I'm a board game noob, any places where I can get it for a really good discounted price?

It is 52 bucks on Miniature Market right now. Have to pay shipping, though. If you think of something else you want, orders $100 or over have free shipping.

http://www.miniaturemarket.com/zmg7...m_campaign=Product_Feed&utm_term=terramystica

 

[Slacker]

It's funny you mention these games in the same breath. I've heard a lot of people preferring Deception over Mysterium.

Curious: how many people did you play Deception with? The first time I played it, we did three games with a player count of four, and I was very underwhelmed. My fiancee loved it though, so I was willing to give it another go. Several months later I played a nine-player game, and it quickly shot up to being my favourite party game. I absolutely love it.

I think I can attribute it to the general mood of group I played it with the first time. We were at a cottage and it was a rainy day, so we already weren't in the best moods to begin with (that, and I had forced them to play several other new games that weekend, so they might have been feeling a bit of board game exhaustion). For whatever reason, the next time I played it went over like gangbusters. I'm assuming part of it had to do with the higher player count, but the game should be enjoyable with four, too.

We played Deception with 7, which is probably a good number for it. I definitely enjoyed playing, and I think most of the group did too, but that particular group wasn't as imaginative with their discussion as I imagine some would be. With the right group I can see that game being a blast.

If I had to nitpick it to death, I would complain that the forensic scientist can occasionally get screwed by the random 4+2 cards and have no hope of leading the investigators to the solution. Like when you're trying to lead them to a pillow and a shoe and the clue is the body type of the victim. Playing Mysterium I've never felt like I've had to give a useless clue (although certainly people don't always get what I'm trying to communicate).

TLDR like all good games it depends entirely on the group.

 

[BassForever]

Tiny Epic Quest is up on pledge manager now if anyone missed the kickstarter and wants to preorder the Deluxe edition.

$24 seems like a great deal will this be available Thursday would like to wait till payday.

Also how are the other games in the series?

 

[Blizzard]

$24 seems like a great deal will this be available Thursday would like to wait till payday.

It's $25 due to the pledge manager fee, plus shipping.

I don't know if they're limiting late pledges. You could log in and check. Some items like Tiny Epic Galaxies Deluxe shows limited quantity with a percent tracker.

 

[XiaNaphryz]

My Kickstarter copy of Santorini came in yesterday, still need to try it out at some point.