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[EYEL1NER]

Yeah, as long as you get a proper file from BGG, inkedplaymats makes absolutely beautiful mats. Better looking than the official ones you'll find most times.

I'll be getting my first InkedPlaymats mat once my Airborne Commander KS pledge ships, so I'll get to check out their quality then. I almost placed an order on Black Friday for their Rising Sun playmat but I don't really play any card games that I would need a generic mat for.

 

[mercviper]

So after two scenarios of AH:LCG where I played standard Roland (One core, my wife was standard Wendy), I think I've built my Roland deck wrong lol. The first scenario is deceptively easy and I kinda regret getting an encyclopedia after how tight it was to play scenario 2. With 5 XP from The Gathering

Spoiler

(That's right, I kept the house, fuck you Lita, What? You're leaving us forever? No wait come back you're amazing :<)

I upgraded my Magnifying Glass, grabbed a Police Badge and the Encyclopedia, dropping out both Flashlights in my deck in favor of investigation via beatdown. I passed over Disc of Itzamna since I figured the discard effect didn't count as a trigger for Roland's ability, but it's looking damn good now.

Midnight Masks really makes you appreciate getting +damage where you can get it since the normal non-acolyte mobs you draw are almost as bad as the 'boss' in The Gathering. We still managed to interrogate 4 of the cultists, resigning on the last round possible (mister masks and 2 acolytes had a total of 4 doom on them RIP game counter). I spent an entire turn in Southside searching for my librarian to search for my encyclopedia and ended up never using the book ever lol. We got 5 XP to spend after this scenario too, so I am adding extra ammunition and the shotgun, dropping the Research Librarian and Mind Over Matter. I find Mind Over Matter to be really weak for Roland given that its only good for his dex stat.

Edit: Also, in terms of combat strategy, it's immensely useful to have someone who can evade monsters since the retaliate keyword doesn't work while exhausted.

 

[Protome]

I finally got Cattack No. 1 to the table last night. Lovely little game about cats playing volleyball. The two player rules are a little weird but they work well, it's definitely designed to be a 4 player game.

 

[Lupercal]

The Fire Giant is really expensive (and only kills non-monsters). Maybe it's more powerful in a 2P game, as hurting your opponent is as good as helping yourself, but the power cost coupled with the timing (and limited village spaces and inability to invade the center) make it weak in a 3+ player game.

Really ? Nice, thanks for clarifying

I found the best strategy (in my 2 plays) is to pillage quickly (because aftert everything is pillaged the age ends) and rack up quests.

We're playing a 4P game tonight, wonder how that will go.

 

[BomberMouse]

I finally got Cattack No. 1 to the table last night. Lovely little game about cats playing volleyball. The two player rules are a little weird but they work well, it's definitely designed to be a 4 player game.

Nice, I've been eyeing that game for a while. Art is absolutely lovely.

 

[antiquegamer]

We played so many games this weekend and we all have great time.

Finally got Captain Sonar to the table and we all thought it was great though I do agree that the game is entirely rest on honor system as there is no way to police if the team doing thing correctly however if you play it for fun and not taking it so seriously it is a great time. We played with 6 but my kids felt playing with double duty was pretty stressful for Captain.

I also finally got Millennium Blades to the table and I was really surprise how much my kids and in-law love this game. We ended up playing it a few times. Also played Scythe multiple times and this was another hit with the group with my son and his friends. My in-law like it but he like many people was thinking this was a war game with mech battle so the idea that it's just efficiency game put him off a bit. I also teach Great Western Trail to couple of new people, the game is simple but can be quite a bear to teach. Also teaching several of my in-law gateway game, Potion Explosion was a big hit but they also enjoy Five Tribes and Splendor. We also got House on the Hills expansion to the table (I got for my niece as she loves this game). I didn't play it but it seems they all had a great time.

 

[AstroLad]

For the Destiny players, I really need to find a good deck to beat rush aggro, especially Jango/Veers, which is currently very dominant (4-1) in our home meta (vs. Focus Luke only so far; though Focus Luke is pretty well rounded).

So after two scenarios of AH:LCG where I played standard Roland (One core, my wife was standard Wendy), I think I've built my Roland deck wrong lol. The first scenario is deceptively easy and I kinda regret getting an encyclopedia after how tight it was to play scenario 2. With 5 XP from The Gathering

Spoiler

(That's right, I kept the house, fuck you Lita, What? You're leaving us forever? No wait come back you're amazing :<)

I upgraded my Magnifying Glass, grabbed a Police Badge and the Encyclopedia, dropping out both Flashlights in my deck in favor of investigation via beatdown. I passed over Disc of Itzamna since I figured the discard effect didn't count as a trigger for Roland's ability, but it's looking damn good now.

Midnight Masks really makes you appreciate getting +damage where you can get it since the normal non-acolyte mobs you draw are almost as bad as the 'boss' in The Gathering. We still managed to interrogate 4 of the cultists, resigning on the last round possible (mister masks and 2 acolytes had a total of 4 doom on them RIP game counter). I spent an entire turn in Southside searching for my librarian to search for my encyclopedia and ended up never using the book ever lol. We got 5 XP to spend after this scenario too, so I am adding extra ammunition and the shotgun, dropping the Research Librarian and Mind Over Matter. I find Mind Over Matter to be really weak for Roland given that its only good for his dex stat.

Edit: Also, in terms of combat strategy, it's immensely useful to have someone who can evade monsters since the retaliate keyword doesn't work while exhausted.

Yeah +damage is absolutely essential to pretty much every scenario so far. Makes you realize how garbage Switchblade is. Evade is great in terms of surviving scenarios, but unfortunately just helps you survive as so far you can't really evade your way into the better resolutions. Roland/Daisy is my current favorite 2P combo as a result. Roland/Daisy/Agnes for 3P.

 

[Cappa]

Cappa, if you're still reading the thread...

I kind of made a similar 'mistake' and tried to get into FFG LCGs when getting into board games last year. I found difficulty spike was such that I didn't have enough time to learn them, so I was forced to look for games with simpler rules.

So having said that, these are the games I'd recommend:

- Baseball Highlights 2045. A lot of fun, even if you hate baseball.
- Twilight Struggle. Fun, fairly complex. Great if either of you enjoy 20th Century history.
- Memoir '44.

Don't let the genres turn you off - these are all fun and fairly easy to learn games.

I wasnt reading, but I went back and thankfully found this. Thanks, Ill check into those. My brother bout me and my GF a bunch of games for Christmas and were having fun with them so far.

Jaipur is a blast so far, glad I finally got the game. Its simple and fun does get stale if you play alot of consecutive games though.

He also got us Hive, havent played much yet so I cant comment.

Castles of Burgundy, we were set to start this last night but we just got as far as setting everything up ,its currently just sitting on the living room table waiting for us to play. It doesnt seem like it will take to long to pick up but I have a feeling this is one of those games that the rules will only make sense when we start playing.

He also got us one of those travel "mini" Sherlock Holmes games, havent tried it yet either.

thanks again all for the tips

See if this helps with Game of Thrones:

https://boardgamegeek.com/filepage/135856/game-thrones-lcg-2nd-edition-reference-sheet

It's a fan made reference sheet explaining the rules in a clearer way. You'll have to login to BGG to download it, but you should definitely make an account (it's free) if you haven't already.

There are lots of helpful resources when you're having trouble figuring out how to play.

Yep, BGG is fantastic. Ive download a couple of the guides, but its still all gibberish to me. Im hoping we can get through Castles of Burgundy and then we will tackle GOT. I keep reading about core sets, you need to buy 2 more decks, etc etc and it just keeps putting me off... idk.

I've always thought pandemic worked fine with 2 players, it's just leagues easier with smaller player counts but the nice thing about pandemic is you can always adjust difficulty.

Hanabi is a great co-op card game that plays 2-5 or if you want something more competitive you can try Raptor.

Thank you for this... Pandemic might be our next purchase, she really likes the concept of Pandemic Legacy, but I keep hearing people say the 2P for Pandemic isnt great.

 

[Blizzard]

We finally tried the 7 Wonders Duel Pantheon expansion. It seems to integrate well, though after one game I can understand two minor complaints:

1. The temples seem almost identical besides potentially being free, not different like the old guilds which they replace.
2. The complexity can be offputting. It's not bad, but it's definitely more fiddly and space-consuming than before.

I'd need a few games to be able to properly comment. The idea of placing divinities in whatever spots you want is interesting. Some things feel VERY strong. My opponent had a resource advantage which can happen sometimes. Because of this, they bought a divinity that stole one of my unbuilt wonders. Then, they built THAT wonder which gave them a free divinity, and THAT free divinity gave them a free wonder, if I recall correctly. So it was a swing that resulted in them having 5 wonders, 3/5 built, and me losing out on 2 divinities.

I got incredibly lucky by my winning science symbol being flipped from a facedown card in age 3 after my only likely path to a science win had been stolen. Otherwise I would have lost by something like 40 points. My opponent was pretty annoyed that I won without any wonders built, so I'm not sure if we'll play the expansion a lot. We'll see.

 

[joelseph]

If any regulars need some GG to buy an avatar or overtext on BGG reply with your BGG username and how much gold you need and I will try and send it over.

 

[Blizzard]

If the Potion Explosion designer still posts here, contrats on the great reception for your game. The Scythe designer put your game on his top 10 for 2016: http://jameystegmaier.com/2016/12/my-top-10-favorite-games-of-2016/

 

[echoshifting]

I've played Saloon Tycoon twice since Christmas and I'm thinking about trying to trade it for something else. Has anyone else here played this? Am I missing something?

The aesthetics are lovely. The card stock, omg...that's almost always the first thing I notice in a game's components and it's sooooo good. In fact almost all of the components are great and the art is well done (my one complaint is the curling cardboard playmats, which did create a few problems during play). The gold nugget counters make you feel like a part of the game world in a way few games with a bunch of counters ever do, and the three-dimensional structures create a cool effect. In our first game, with a little saloon music I looked up playing in the background, everyone quickly slipped into an "Old West" accent, and the rule of "any game is fun with a group of people who are all looking to have fun" held true, despite the fact that I quickly ran away with the game. It was obvious about 75% of the way through that nobody could catch up to me. This was disappointing, as the Outlaw mechanic seemed like a smart way to handicap a player who is at risk of doing this. They just don't do nearly enough to actually prevent it from happening. Furthermore, if you're in the lead, you are going to have an easier time bribing Outlaws to move to other players than they will moving them back to you...though, by the end of that first game, I had decided that it's probably not worth it to bother doing that anyway. The Outlaw that causes supply cubes to cost 3 gold instead of 2 is really the only one that seems like a significant problem.

The second game was not nearly as fun, as it had become clear to most of us in the course of the first round that the claims (i.e., objectives) were almost never worth pursuing. Even the special rooms are a bit iffy; meeting their prerequisites and paying their additional costs for a 5 point bonus that can be stolen? That's the equivalent of one small room you could have been finishing for 5 points that can't be stolen, so why bother? I can get a similar bonus that nobody can steal by finishing a third floor and sticking a roof on it.

It seems to me like the easiest path to victory is to ignore absolutely everything except building and finishing rooms as quickly as possible. Yeah, you have a big, cool-looking saloon at the end but there are few interesting choices in the game when you play this way. Usually when something like this happens on a second playthrough, I assume that there is something I must be missing about the strategy behind the game, but I don't think that's the case here. It's a shame because the theme was a huge hit.

I feel like this game could have benefited greatly from more playtesting, and I think these issues could be fixed with a full expansion (looking at the Boomtown mini expansions, there don't appear to be any significant changes there, just more pieces). But this was a kickstarter game and there doesn't seem to be one in the works. It's probably just going to sit in my game closet until I can trade it away. Oh well.

edit: I'd love a recommendation for a better Western-themed game!

 

[mercviper]

edit: I'd love a recommendation for a better Western-themed game!

Colt Express? Though it's definitely a lot more zany fun and mind games than anything euro-like.

 

[AstroLad]

edit: I'd love a recommendation for a better Western-themed game!

Oh man, so many good ones across so many genres and player counts.

Euro/worker placement: Carson City & Tiny Epic Western. Carson City especially is just a fantastic super brainburny Euro where the theme shockingly just comes through so well since you can duel over spots (and the aesthetics of the game are fantastic).

Dice-chucking/Party: Colt Express, Dice Town, & Bang: The Dice Game

Dexterity: Flick 'Em Up

Exploration: Lost Valley

 

[Taborcarn]

There's also Gold West, but that's more California Gold Rush theme/staking claims than straight up Western.

 

[joelseph]

Is Tiny Epic western the one where you are playing Poker hands? I always loved that about Doomtown but that game is a hot mess. Avoid.

 

[echoshifting]

Thanks a lot guys, I am going to look into all of these

Carson City sounds awesome, that's probably my first stop. Maybe also Colt Express

Edit: drat, Carson City doesn't appear to be in print atm

 

[cooltrainer]

If the Potion Explosion designer still posts here, contrats on the great reception for your game. The Scythe designer put your game on his top 10 for 2016: http://jameystegmaier.com/2016/12/my-top-10-favorite-games-of-2016/

I like his random mentions. I picked up Viticulture but haven't tried it yet. What was everyone's favorite games that were new to you this year? Deception and Junk Art are probably my favorites.

 

[Taborcarn]

Is Tiny Epic western the one where you are playing Poker hands? I always loved that about Doomtown but that game is a hot mess. Avoid.

It's worker placement but you play out a three card poker hand at the end of a round. It's pretty good, has some decent depth for a small game.

 

[echoshifting]

Looks like I can get Lost Valley for a good price. Is the expansion essential or should I wait?

Is Gold West worth seventy bucks?

 

[Neverfade]

Thanks a lot guys, I am going to look into all of these

Carson City sounds awesome, that's probably my first stop. Maybe also Colt Express

Edit: drat, Carson City doesn't appear to be in print atm

I have a copy I'll trade/sell (I upgrade to big box). PM me if interested and we can work something out.

 

[Dimitri2401]

What was everyone's favorite games that were new to you this year? Deception and Junk Art are probably my favorites.

Games released in 2016 : Ulm and Mechs vs Minions.
New to me in 2016 : Keyflower and Rococo.

 

[TumblingHippo]

Junk Art and Mechs & Minions were definitely the winners for me in 2016.

Any genres you found you no longer liked to play? 3+ player war game stuff (moving people on a map ala Eclipse, Kemet, Scythe types) really fell off the ... map for me.

 

[Lyng]

I like his random mentions. I picked up Viticulture but haven't tried it yet. What was everyone's favorite games that were new to you this year? Deception and Junk Art are probably my favorites.

Oh man so many this year

Scythe
Pax Porfiriana
Caylus
Through the Ages: New story
Glass Road

Fantastic year for me.

 

[Neverfade]

What was everyone's favorite games that were new to you this year?

Rebellion
New Angeles
Mansions of Madness 2nd
Stockpile
Inis
SW: Destiny - although I've only had the shitty beginner game experience until my booster boxes show up.


INIS YA'LL.

 

[JesseZao]

Played Key to the City - London last week and enjoyed it. Has anyone played both it and Keyflower? The guy who brought KttC said it basically replaces Keyflower and is more streamlined. Any reason to play the progenitor of the series?

 

[Adam Prime]

I'm thinking about Dominion, can someone tell me more about it? I'm looking at mainly playing two players with my wife.

 

[Vard]

I'm thinking about Dominion, can someone tell me more about it? I'm looking at mainly playing two players with my wife.

It is THE classic deck builder game. Really you can't go wrong with it - it plays great at 2 players and there are a ton of expansions for when the base game starts to feel like it has run its course. And you will play it a ton - it is a very quick paced and addicting game.

 

[zulux21]

It is THE classic deck builder game. Really you can't go wrong with it - it plays great at 2 players and there are a ton of expansions for when the base game starts to feel like it has run its course. And you will play it a ton - it is a very quick paced and addicting game.

alternatively you can have the experience I have which it's a very predictable and boring game. (might be my least favorite deck builder that I have played and I have played a ton of them)

as soon as the board is set up you know what you need to do and doing pretty much anything else will result in you losing.

who ever gets the better deck shuffle early on is almost always the winner *shrugs*

you will play it a few times, be bored of it, and move onto far more interesting deck builders with more elements to them that result in a more varied and interesting game.


aka my recommendation is find a friend with a copy and play it a few times, lose to that friend a few times as they know the right path better than you do and get bored of the game... or fall in love with it as plenty of people like it

 

[antiquegamer]

I got A Game of Thrones - Hand of King for my son since he loves the books and hoping he might spread board game love to his army buddy as the game is small and portable. (He said everyone on his base just play video games) I took it out and played with my in-law so we can learn how to play and to my surprise the game is really fun and quick to play. You basically move Varys on your turn and where you ended up you collect the character cards which lay out in 6 x 6 grid. Each character belong to their house and if you collect majority or tie majority you collect their house banner. If you happen to collect the last member of the house you get to choose companion supporter which have various special power (Jon Snow count as two house characters, Face-less man can killed three people one from each area etc. The game end when you can no longer move Varys (he can only move in four direction and no diagonal movement and have to land on character at the end of his move). For a small little game it plays quickly but have very nice strategy and a lot to think about. It's great if you are looking for small two player game for taking to café or park or as a small quick filler.

The artwork is very nice, I really like the comic / cartoon style drawing on them and nice departure from the serious arts you often see on Fantasy Flight Games GoT or photo from TV series.

 

[Iced]

Rebellion
New Angeles
Mansions of Madness 2nd
Stockpile
Inis
SW: Destiny - although I've only had the shitty beginner game experience until my booster boxes show up.


INIS YA'LL.

Hoping to get my copy to the table soon! Very excited.

 

[AstroLad]

Rebellion
New Angeles
Mansions of Madness 2nd
Stockpile
Inis
SW: Destiny - although I've only had the shitty beginner game experience until my booster boxes show up.


INIS YA'LL.

Destiny and Arkham LCG definite 1-2 right now, and the hours played back it up. In terms of games from past years, Eldritch got a ton of play too. Haven't played the others on your list but would be up for Inis and Stockpile one day.

 

[Experien]

What was everyone's favorite games that were new to you this year? Deception and Junk Art are probably my favorites.

Probably Star Wars: Rebellion.

The others in no order...
Simurgh
TMNT
Bloodborne

Honorable mention is Rick & Morty Total Rickall if only only play a few times.

 

[Karkador]

Played Key to the City - London last week and enjoyed it. Has anyone played both it and Keyflower? The guy who brought KttC said it basically replaces Keyflower and is more streamlined. Any reason to play the progenitor of the series?

I haven't played Key to the City, but I read the rules. I own Keyflower, and the rules seemed very similar, but they removed some of the things I like about Keyflower. It didn't seem much better or worse, just different. I don't know what's up with people in this hobby so eager to 'replace' older games.

 

[Neverfade]

A nearby games shop had Silver Tower on sale and I nabbed it last night.

Just cracked it open and.... fuck me running. I assembled Space Hulk eventually but these goddamn sprues look like a whole other level of tedious.

 

[joelseph]

Looks like I can get Lost Valley for a good price. Is the expansion essential or should I wait?

Not essential to enjoy.

 

[Blizzard]

alternatively you can have the experience I have which it's a very predictable and boring game. (might be my least favorite deck builder that I have played and I have played a ton of them)

as soon as the board is set up you know what you need to do and doing pretty much anything else will result in you losing.

who ever gets the better deck shuffle early on is almost always the winner *shrugs*

you will play it a few times, be bored of it, and move onto far more interesting deck builders with more elements to them that result in a more varied and interesting game.


aka my recommendation is find a friend with a copy and play it a few times, lose to that friend a few times as they know the right path better than you do and get bored of the game... or fall in love with it as plenty of people like it

I definitely do like Dominion and its expansions, but I may not be smart enough to instantly see the best efficiency route as was suggested above. Suffice to say there are conflicting opinions about the game.

I'd suggest Dominion + Seaside followed by Prosperity if you try expansions.



*edit* My big games for this year were Scythe and Feast for Odin.

 

[zulux21]

I definitely do like Dominion and its expansions, but I may not be smart enough to instantly see the best efficiency route as was suggested above. Suffice to say there are conflicting opinions about the game.

I'd suggest Dominion + Seaside followed by Prosperity if you try expansions.

there indeed are

to be fair I like randomness in most of my games and thus my tastes in general tend to not find games with very little randomness enjoyable (aka I dislike a lot of euro games)

 

[Adam Prime]

My wife and I just finished playing some Boss Monster 2+ expansions. We love that game. With all the decks mixed in you have such a different game every time you play. I think it has a great mix of randomness and skill and adapting to an ever changing situation.

Is there any word on new expansions? We have them all minus the Crash Landing, I'll get that next, but have been playing for about a month nonstop.

 

[JesseZao]

I haven't played Key to the City, but I read the rules. I own Keyflower, and the rules seemed very similar, but they removed some of the things I like about Keyflower. It didn't seem much better or worse, just different. I don't know what's up with people in this hobby so eager to 'replace' older games.

I don't own either, so I'd probably only get one and I'm leaning towards Key to the City unless OG Keyflower retains compelling elements that were stripped.

i.e. The Green Meeple seems like something I'd like added as a promo/expansion for KttC. Seems like a novel mechanic in the OG.

 

[DTU]

For the Destiny players, I really need to find a good deck to beat rush aggro, especially Jango/Veers, which is currently very dominant (4-1) in our home meta (vs. Focus Luke only so far; though Focus Luke is pretty well rounded).

Best of luck. Jango/Veers is the best aggro in the game right now. I've come really close with http://swdestinydb.com/decklist/view/5710/villainebalarjangofox1-3.0

 

[antiquegamer]

We finally tried the 7 Wonders Duel Pantheon expansion. It seems to integrate well, though after one game I can understand two minor complaints:

My opponent was pretty annoyed that I won without any wonders built, so I'm not sure if we'll play the expansion a lot. We'll see.

I loved 7 Wonders Duel but I was really hesitant to pick up the expansion and probably not going to. I like the game as is because it's simple and easy and when I read about all the additions to the game it just doesn't seem that appealing. I felt the only thing the game needed was just more cards variety (especially the Wonders and better Guild cards, we find the one in the core set were for the most part not worth going after). Thank you for the impression.

Castles of Burgundy, we were set to start this last night but we just got as far as setting everything up ,its currently just sitting on the living room table waiting for us to play. It doesnt seem like it will take to long to pick up but I have a feeling this is one of those games that the rules will only make sense when we start playing.

Castles of Burgundy is one of the favorite games I don't own mainly because people in my play group often bust this out. It can be complex if you are new to gaming especially setting the board but for the most part the game is pretty straight forward. It will definitely take you a few game for it to click but it's a great game.

edit: I'd love a recommendation for a better Western-themed game!

Beside Tiny Epic, the only two other western game I played is the zany Colt Express and really heavy Great Western Trail. I love Great Western Trail but I am not sure if its the type of western you are looking for. It's more cattle deck building, set collecting than a wild west show down. I heard a lot of good thing about Carson City but no one in my group own it.

INIS YA'LL.

We played several games of Inis during the holidays. I really not sure where I stand on this game, it's fun but at the same time frustrating. My problem is once some one have winning condition it's very hard to prevent them from ending the game. May be it is suppose to be that way and you really need to be on your toe the whole time watching the board to make sure no one is setting up to win.

Just bought Dead of Winter for $30 from a clearance sale.

Is two players enough to have fun or should we try to get a couple more?

I find 3-4 is ideal for DoW but you can easily play with just two and play as pure co-op game instead of using the traitor mechanic.

I'll be getting my first InkedPlaymats mat once my Airborne Commander KS pledge ships, so I'll get to check out their quality then. I almost placed an order on Black Friday for their Rising Sun playmat but I don't really play any card games that I would need a generic mat for.

I got Inked Playmats for my Mage Knight and it is pretty good mats and I love using it. I am thinking about

If the Potion Explosion designer still posts here, contrats on the great reception for your game. The Scythe designer put your game on his top 10 for 2016: http://jameystegmaier.com/2016/12/my-top-10-favorite-games-of-2016/

It is favorite game with my non-gamer family members. It's complex enough that it's not just simple matching game and the whole marble contraption just make the game exciting to play.

My favorite games for 2016

Most played game

Scythe - Hardcore gamers, casual gamers, young, old and even my daughter enjoy this game. It's not the best game ever but it's one of those game that everyone that I introduced to don't mind playing it again which in my opinion is the best way to separate good game from great game.

Surprise hit

Millennium Blades - I got this game because of people in this very thread and the fact that my in-law and I was ex-CCG junkie. I figured we would played it a few times and either I kept it for novelty or sell off the games but to my surprise my kids really like this game. (they also a lot better at it than us older folks) My daughter and my son quickly find combo and by the third tournament they were raking in 200-300 points round.

Party / Group game

Captain Sonar - I would only recommend this game only if you have good group of people that you enjoy playing with. The game can get really contentious and unless you get some one to be referee or judge cheating is hard to prove. That said it is probably the most intense and exhilarating game I played this year. Also best if you find people that suit the role. I read someone here complain about First Mate role being boring and we didn't get to play with 8 so the Captain took on First Mate and my kids felt this was way too much for one person.

Euro and point salad -

Feast for Odin and Great Western Trail - I like them both but I think Great Western Trail is less intimidating but I like the fact that you can play Feast solo and have just as much fun. My daughter is not a fan of Euro-solitaire like this game or Orlean and much prefer Great Western Trail (and also because it has cows).

One game that I didn't plan to get and ended up being excellent is Arkham Horror the Card Game. I felt that this is the game that FFG should have sub-title "The Adventure Card Game" instead of Warhammer Quest (RIP we will never know your full potential). This is what Pathfinder was trying to achieve but fail. An RPG in a box, a card game that tell story but still have enough "game elements", modular, campaign, deck construction and great artwork. It's easily my current top Arkham Files game and I felt it's even better than the new Mansion of Madness as there are endless possibility for this game to go. You can have adventure in all kind of locations and since you don't need map tiles or cumbersome sideboard and only deck of location cards the game can expand until FFG run out of places in Arkham universe or we got tired of buying LCG monthly "DLC".

 

[toddhunter]

My 2016 in kickstarter land:

* Pixel Glory - delivered on schedule, played once, will probably not touch again.
* Medici - old game delivered on schedule (card version still on track). One or two quibbles with the production but a fine game to have in the collection.
* Snowblind - on schedule and well put together. The game is missing "something", maybe it is too short? But overall I like this one.
* Don't mess with cthulhu - on schedule, surprisingly fun little game, even if it can be hit or miss. The hits are worth it and the misses short.
* Scuttle - on schedule, it is only ok. Pretty standard card game that I will not play.
* Dale of merchants 2 - on schedule, well put together but showed me once and for all I hate deck building games.

* Santorini - delayed three times for Australia, still don't have it
* Fog of Love - technically supposed to be early 2017, but delayed massively.

All up? Very good experience on the schedules with only Santorini being significantly late and the producers communication has been first class so no real complaints.

If anything the bad experiences have been bad choices on my part. I now understand better what type of game I will like so can do better this year.

 

[Karkador]

I don't own either, so I'd probably only get one and I'm leaning towards Key to the City unless OG Keyflower retains compelling elements that were stripped.

i.e. The Green Meeple seems like something I'd like added as a promo/expansion for KttC. Seems like a novel mechanic in the OG.

For me, I think the way the tiles in Keyflower work is more interesting. You connect them with paths printed on the tile, then you have to figure out how you're going to move the stuff you make on one tile to the building you want to upgrade. The light spatial puzzle this adds is interesting to me, and I feel like the little pieces mean a little more when they physically have to be carted around my little creation.

They also used the roads for another purpose in the Farmers expansion, where you use the meadows between the roads to hold farm animals (kinda like Agricola).

The other big change for me is that you can see the meeples up for grabs for the next round; that's a weird thing to take out.

I guess I'm not really sure that they simplified Key to the City enough to make it stand apart from Keyflower. It would probably take the same amount of time to play, and demand about the same level of play from a player. They could just take the meeple hoarding and the unique auction/worker-placement combo, simplify or omit a lot more stuff, and turn it into something around the level of Catan, and I'd gladly play that as a gateway game with others.

 

[AstroLad]

Best of luck. Jango/Veers is the best aggro in the game right now. I've come really close with http://swdestinydb.com/decklist/view/5710/villainebalarjangofox1-3.0

Nice haha but it's still that damn Jango! I actually snuck out a win with a really fast Han/Rey deck tonight thanks to Han's constant shielding but I also had some good rolls. Do other archetypes have a chance against this deck right now? To us it's table stakes of whether to even bother with a new deck is if it can hang decently with Jango (Vader/Jabba definitely couldn't).

 

[LunarKnite]

What was everyone's favorite games that were new to you this year?

A Feast for Odin, Arkham Horror, and Clank! are my top 3 new games for the year 2016. Honorable mentions include Mechs vs Minions, Aeon's End, and I played Ora et Labora and Through the Ages for the first times this past year.

 

[EYEL1NER]

My favorite games from last year that were new last year were probably Santorini and Potion Explosion. I don't think I actually bought too many new releases last year though; I'll have to sort my collection on BGG and check. Those two are going to be general favorites of mine for a while though, so they aren't just favorites due to lack of competition.


I've got a question for people though, for those of you with unplayed games (or games you have played very little): What is your number one unplayed game that you wish you could get onto the table? I know a few of you have Twilight Imperium that you only play once every year (or like me, haven't ever played). There are some big and lengthy games out there that sell but rarely get played, so what bums you out that you cannot get any games going for? I thought of it while looking at Broken Token inserts just now and seeing that $300 "Big Damn Crate - Mighty Fine Edition" box for Firefly again. I've seen it before and would love to have it, but I don't see myself playing the game anytime soon, despite loving it (I've played it twice back in 2014, I think). Then that made me think of all the lengthy games that I own that won't get played for a long time. I think about something like War of the Ring, that I would love to take into a store and play one of the days, but I don't even know how to play it at this point and a long complex game like that seems like a real hassle to try to teach someone really quickly before a game.

I guess my number one unplayed game that I strongly desire to play would probably be Eclipse, and then Firefly for games that haven't been played in forever.

 

[Lupercal]

My favorite games from last year that were new last year were probably Santorini and Potion Explosion. I don't think I actually bought too many new releases last year though; I'll have to sort my collection on BGG and check. Those two are going to be general favorites of mine for a while though, so they aren't just favorites due to lack of competition.


I've got a question for people though, for those of you with unplayed games (or games you have played very little): What is your number one unplayed game that you wish you could get onto the table? I know a few of you have Twilight Imperium that you only play once every year (or like me, haven't ever played). There are some big and lengthy games out there that sell but rarely get played, so what bums you out that you cannot get any games going for? I thought of it while looking at Broken Token inserts just now and seeing that $300 "Big Damn Crate - Mighty Fine Edition" box for Firefly again. I've seen it before and would love to have it, but I don't see myself playing the game anytime soon, despite loving it (I've played it twice back in 2014, I think). Then that made me think of all the lengthy games that I own that won't get played for a long time. I think about something like War of the Ring, that I would love to take into a store and play one of the days, but I don't even know how to play it at this point and a long complex game like that seems like a real hassle to try to teach someone really quickly before a game.

I guess my number one unplayed game that I strongly desire to play would probably be Eclipse, and then Firefly for games that haven't been played in forever.

It'll have to be either Age of Steam or Battlestar Galactica.
Played BSG many many times with a steady group at a gamestore but ever since it moved away we lost contact with each other.
So I bought my own copy + expansions and got ready to introduce my normal group to it but every time something comes up.

And Age of Steam might be to difficult ? I don't know, everytime I try to learn the rules the gamedate changes and we end up playing something else.

 

[Neverfade]

We played several games of Inis during the holidays. I really not sure where I stand on this game, it's fun but at the same time frustrating. My problem is once some one have winning condition it's very hard to prevent them from ending the game. May be it is suppose to be that way and you really need to be on your toe the whole time watching the board to make sure no one is setting up to win.

There's an answer for every move in that game. It's all about timing your moves properly to outmaneuver your opponents.

And of course you need to pay attention to the board. The fact that it demands such attention is what makes it great.

Fuck multiplayer solitaire.

 

[EYEL1NER]

It'll have to be either Age of Steam or Battlestar Galactica.
Played BSG many many times with a steady group at a gamestore but ever since it moved away we lost contact with each other.
So I bought my own copy + expansions and got ready to introduce my normal group to it but every time something comes up.

And Age of Steam might be to difficult ? I don't know, everytime I try to learn the rules the gamedate changes and we end up playing something else.

Makes sense that BSG wouldn't be easy to get onto the table. It's a game I would like to own because of how well-liked it is and how interesting the traitor mechanics are, and I probably will buy it some day, but it will be another one that goes onto "the stack." For one, I would need to get a group of sufficient size together to play it, so that's already working against me. Then everyone would need to know how to play it, and I don't know how easy that is. I haven't ever tried to explain a big FFG game's rule to a large group before but it sounds like a headache. I think the best way to do it would be make sure everyone is interested at a different gaming event and then get them all copies of the rules to skim.

I am worried that my eventual playthrough of BSG will fall flat for me though since I've never watched it and know nothing about it. My post was about Firefly and when I first played that, I was playing with two coworkers. One had seen the show many times like me and thought the game was too cool. From the way the money looked, to the various quotes in different places, to the different art they used from the shows. And we thought the game was great too and perfectly captured the feel of being a captain of small space ship that needs to take jobs to pay his crew. The other guy had never seen the show and said after playing that not being familiar with the show played a big part in his disinterest in the game. Maybe by the time I get BSG and get around to playing it, I will have watched the show though. I certainly have a lot of time until both of those conditions are fulfilled.