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[Gaming Truth]

Rules question for Machi Koro (yeah yeah, I'm directly quoting the rulebook to emphasize why I'm confused):

Only one establishment with the (T) can be built in a town (you can only build one of each (T) establishments)

So um, yeah. Not quite getting that. Is it stating that each town can only have one (T) building or at most, one of each (T) building?

In the one game I've played so far, one player built a Stadium and a something something purple, kept rolling sixes, and wrecked us. I was wondering if that was supposed to be the case.

 

[Faiz]

"(You can only build one of each (T) establishments)" seems pretty clear that it's one of each?

Though maybe I'm missing something, I don't have the game yet after all lol.

 

[Gaming Truth]

"(You can only build one of each (T) establishments)" seems pretty clear that it's one of each?

Though maybe I'm missing something, I don't have the game yet after all lol.

Well, yeah, and that's how I ran the game when I played it Tuesday. I dunno if it was dumb luck or what that caused the player who had two of those to rob us so badly!

Also, the text I put in the quote box literally came from the instruction booklet. The english translation is not 100%, so I wasn't sure if it's read as:

Only one establishment with the (T) can be built in a town (you can only build one of each (T) establishments)

Only one establishment with the (T) can be built in a town:

• you can only build one of the (T) establishments
• you can only build one of each (T) establishments

If it's the latter, I would have just kept the instructions in the parenthesis and never said the other thing. They just sound contradictory, which is funny since one is supposed to be the clearer explanation of the other)

 

[platypotamus]

I'll have to simplify it a fair bit - my son's reading is rough - but it'll be doable. They're used to working towards completing "something" & sometimes playing games without a score (that's how I got them playing Carcassonne), and they're familiar with separate boards from Zooloretto so I should be able to whip some simple rules without the minor/major cards. He was so damn /excited/ to see the farm boards & cubes with lil' googly eyes for the animal resources (thanks, previous owner!).

There's the family game version in the rules that is basically the game without the cards, right?

 

[Karkador]

It's confusing because the first phrase seems to suggest that you can only build one card in your town with a (T) on it, while the second phrase suggests that you can build several (T) cards, as long as they are all different buildings.

 

[fenners]

There's the family game version in the rules that is basically the game without the cards, right?

Yep, that's the intent, and I'll likely simplify the scoring etc. I have a hard enough time scoring at Agricola... He's six years old after all

 

[platypotamus]

Yep, that's the intent, and I'll likely simplify the scoring etc. I have a hard enough time scoring at Agricola... He's six years old after all

Just as long as you remember to talk trash and absolutely demolish him

 

[ultron87]

I think I've only ever played the family version of Agricola. Every time I've played there has been at least one new person so we didn't use the cards. I have no idea how this affects my middling feelings about it.

 

[platypotamus]

I think I've only ever played the family version of Agricola. Every time I've played there has been at least one new person so we didn't use the cards. I have no idea how this affects my middling feelings about it.

Probably quite a bit. The cards are generally what you will base your long term game strategy around. They are a focus that will make particularly resources more relatively valuable or worthless for you, which helps spread out who is going for what on the board a bit.

 

[BomberMouse]

Cards are the best part of Agricola and the reason why Caverna doesn't come close to it.

 

[StoOgE]

Well, yeah, and that's how I ran the game when I played it Tuesday. I dunno if it was dumb luck or what that caused the player who had two of those to rob us so badly!

Also, the text I put in the quote box literally came from the instruction booklet. The english translation is not 100%, so I wasn't sure if it's read as:

Only one establishment with the (T) can be built in a town (you can only build one of each (T) establishments)

Only one establishment with the (T) can be built in a town:

• you can only build one of the (T) establishments
• you can only build one of each (T) establishments

If it's the latter, I would have just kept the instructions in the parenthesis and never said the other thing. They just sound contradictory, which is funny since one is supposed to be the clearer explanation of the other)

You must have the quick and dirty print run we did (Japanese box). We've redone the text since.

You can build one of each (T) buildings. So, you can have up to 3 purple buildings in your town, but not two of the same (T) building

 

[BattleMonkey]

Cards are the best part of Agricola and the reason why Caverna doesn't come close to it.

Cards are sadly the worst part of Agricola as well. If you get a shitty hand you are stuck with it and can be put at a major disadvantage. While other player can get really easy combo of cards for easy victory.

 

[Karkador]

They carry some common hits or new releases, but not much at all whenever I go there. Comic book store on University nearby has like 6 times the inventory and other game stores in the area have far more board game inventory than CSI's store. They can't compare in price of course. I don't even bother looking for games at the CSI Hollywood store, I just do store pickup as the pickings are so slim. It's funny how their is usually more stock behind the counter reserved for pickup, than actually on shelves for sale.

Do you live in the SoFla area?

 

[AstroLad]

Cards are sadly the worst part of Agricola as well. If you get a shitty hand you are stuck with it and can be put at a major disadvantage. While other player can get really easy combo of cards for easy victory.

I love the cards but I play pretty casually so usually just draw 7 keep 7. For the more hardcore you can easily do draft or draw 10 keep 7, etc. There are lots of ways to mitigate the randomness even suggested by the rules.

 

[joelseph]

Cards are sadly the worst part of Agricola as well. If you get a shitty hand you are stuck with it and can be put at a major disadvantage. While other player can get really easy combo of cards for easy victory.

That is why you should draft them. Drafting cards is so much fun, you have partial control over the strategies you are planning on deploying. It's strategic bliss!

 

[BattleMonkey]

Do you live in the SoFla area?

Yea I'm in Davie/Weston area

 

[Karkador]

Yea I'm in Davie/Weston area

Did you ever go to the CoolStuff monthly meetups?

 

[joelseph]

I can understand an owners reluctance to order FF big box stuff. How many Fortune and Glories do you see sitting around on shelves? I am a huge fan of FF too.

 

[antiquegamer]

A board/mat for MK is a waste of money. Why clutter up simplicity you monsters?

Also, Astro, check your mailbox in Diablo, I got one of those packages that drop for people on your friends list addressed to you.

The card placement in the game seems simple so may be the board is not necessary but I feel it would be opposite of clutter. I find board to be helpful in teaching and showing game to new people.

Ascension came with over 200+ cards and come with beautiful if unnecessary board but I think it help set the tone and the mood. You can play King of Tokyo without the board and just put monster in the center of the table but you can't argue the game is not better with it.

 

[joelseph]

I don't think a board/mat is necessary to enjoy the game, but, it is such a visually appealing game that a board/mat in the same style is nothing but more awesome.

 

[BattleMonkey]

Did you ever go to the CoolStuff monthly meetups?

Nope never done any of their events. Do usually two game days/nights a week at my place that I usually don't have other time to go gaming elsewhere.

 

[Ohnonono]

Pre-Ordered Run, Fight , or Die. Seems like a fun game to sit around and drink beer and play. Lots of zombie fun without the set-up of the bigger zombie games. Coming from a tactical war gaming background I am not sure your actually getting more "tactical" feel for all that set up anyway, they all turn into push your luck kind of situations anyway.

 

[Ohnonono]

Known other local store owners who essentially feel same way. Kickstarters are all the rage and it's a big risk for them to buy these big expensive games, especially if they flop. Like Sedition Wars was a huge flop, few months after the KS was delivered stores everywhere online where putting it on clearance, but you got all these retailers who paid more than the clearance prices to just stock the stupid game. Kickstarters are also giving first dibs to backers and all kinds of exclusive content, again screwing over retailers.

Lot of local retailers want to focus on smaller games and stuff that actually has players coming in to the stores to play, like CCG's. Board games are just an extra product that you have to put on the shelfs if you got space for and might make a little extra on.

CSI has multiple locations and keep expanding, but you know, they have garbage for inventory at all of them except their main store/warehouse. All their locations are essentially CCG game stations, and if you want board game product, you have to special order it from their warehouse in Orlando.

As for saying a game might not be released at retail, it could just mean it's not going to be made available through his normal distributor channels, and require going through direct or specific distributor they don't use. Lot of stores don't like to use multiple distributors since they have order minimums to make and discounts are based off size of orders. With all in one distros, store can put their big order for everything from one source and save money, having to go through multiple distros reduces sizes of their orders and amount of discounts they get on the products.

For sure. I can understand his frustration. Sometimes I think he just looks at Magic, Heroclix, stuff like that and just wants to throw giant board games across the room. He loves board gaming himself but his attitude really changed when kickstarter got booming. He does make sure to get in FFG stuff and keeps up with LCGs and like I said, most games under 100$. I am sure when it hits that mark he just cant risk making the minimum order from the publisher without losing money. You take all that and then look at all the money you make on Magic and I am sure it makes one salty. Was just commenting on the change over a couple years.

 

[Phthisis]

Anyone from this thread going to be at PAX? And more importantly, would want to met up for some gaming on Sat or Sun?

 

[joelseph]

Contemplating going to BGG. Have the chance to be in Texas in November. Would have to catch a second flight from Houston to Dallas, I'm not doing that 6 hour drive.

 

[BattleMonkey]

For sure. I can understand his frustration. Sometimes I think he just looks at Magic, Heroclix, stuff like that and just wants to throw giant board games across the room. He loves board gaming himself but his attitude really changed when kickstarter got booming. He does make sure to get in FFG stuff and keeps up with LCGs and like I said, most games under 100$. I am sure when it hits that mark he just cant risk making the minimum order from the publisher without losing money. You take all that and then look at all the money you make on Magic and I am sure it makes one salty. Was just commenting on the change over a couple years.

Yea stores see constant flow of money from stuff like CCG's, while a board game will often just sit on shelf for months. Friend used to have a store locally and it was amazing how it would be packed during the week with the same folks coming in multiple nights a week, and each day dropping money on these games to play in draft tournies and to buy new boxes/packs of cards on a regular basis. The money and product just actually flows.

 

[BomberMouse]

Cards are sadly the worst part of Agricola as well. If you get a shitty hand you are stuck with it and can be put at a major disadvantage. While other player can get really easy combo of cards for easy victory.

Welp, I usually don't care enough about winning, I just wanna have fun so it's not an issue for me. Also, draw 10 pick 7.

 

[Neverfade]

The card placement in the game seems simple so may be the board is not necessary but I feel it would be opposite of clutter. I find board to be helpful in teaching and showing game to new people.

Ascension came with over 200+ cards and come with beautiful if unnecessary board but I think it help set the tone and the mood. You can play King of Tokyo without the board and just put monster in the center of the table but you can't argue the game is not better with it.

I guess we have two completely different outlooks on component design. The board in KoT is stupid too. Thankfully KoNY's actually serves a purpose.

 

[AstroLad]

I honestly don't understand how selling board games survives as a model exclusively. I think board-game spaces, where maybe selling games is incidental revenue, are a fascinating idea though, and one that just appeals to me more as a consumer.

 

[Gaming Truth]

You must have the quick and dirty print run we did (Japanese box). We've redone the text since.

You can build one of each (T) buildings. So, you can have up to 3 purple buildings in your town, but not two of the same (T) building

Actually, the quoted text came from the website, which still might be hosting the quick and dirty run (wait, unless the Gen Con pile came from the quick and dirty run). =)

 

[StoOgE]

Actually, the quoted text came from the website, which still might be hosting the quick and dirty run (wait, unless the Gen Con pile came from the quick and dirty run). =)

Nope. Your actual rulebook should have clearer rules.

Which website are you looking on?

I can probably get it fixed. Unless it's BGG

 

[Karkador]

I honestly don't understand how selling board games survives as a model exclusively. I think board-game spaces, where maybe selling games is incidental revenue, are a fascinating idea though, and one that just appeals to me more as a consumer.

Board game cafes certainly are compelling places to go to. It solves the issue of having something decent to eat while gaming, and being able to borrow games is convenient for lots of reasons. The store makes its money, and it's easy for people, even the uninitiated, to come in and check out some board games.

On the other hand, I think a game store could sell board games if they actually like...tried to market themselves, and market the products?

CoolStuff is popular because their prices are low, so that's how they market themselves, but that obviously can't be how everyone does it. CSI is still largely operating for a BGG audience, and are largely unconcerned with selling the average non-geek their first board game - and this is true for almost every game shop I've been to.

I look around at different types of retail shops - clothing stores, toy stores, grocery stores, furniture stores, book stores - they all follow certain concepts for the layout of their store, the lighting, the furnishings, the displays. Game shops I've been to just don't invest in these sorts of things, instead putting in the most minimal effort to open a warehouse with tables, and I think that determines a lot about what customers they get and what they sell.

 

[Tangeroo]

Cards are sadly the worst part of Agricola as well. If you get a shitty hand you are stuck with it and can be put at a major disadvantage. While other player can get really easy combo of cards for easy victory.

Have you tried playing draft or discard style? This will greatly mitigate the bad luck draws.

 

[Gaming Truth]

Nope. Your actual rulebook should have clearer rules.

Which website are you looking on?

I can probably get it fixed. Unless it's BGG

BGG: http://boardgamegeek.com/filepage/93097/english-rule-machi-koro

I'll check when I get home tonight.

p.s., since I have you on a rulebook binge, my rulebook at home has Japanese cards on the Building New Establishments and Completing Landmarks page. I have no idea if that matters to you at all, since you don't need to read the cards to understand the picture, but you may have OCD too!

 

[Flynn]

I look around at different types of retail shops - clothing stores, toy stores, grocery stores, furniture stores, book stores - they all follow certain concepts for the layout of their store, the lighting, the furnishings, the displays. Game shops I've been to just don't invest in these sorts of things, instead putting in the most minimal effort to open a warehouse with tables, and I think that determines a lot about what customers they get and what they sell.

People have made the same argument about comic book stores for years. Yeah it is possible to make a nice looking shop selling extremely niche product with a tiny margin, but you'd better be in the perfect town, perfect location and perfect economy and maybe also be independently wealthy just in case.

tl;dr retail is hard, everybody thinks they can do it better

 

[Gaming Truth]

Nope. Your actual rulebook should have clearer rules.

Which website are you looking on?

I can probably get it fixed. Unless it's BGG

The actual rulebook is absolutely clear. I guess the question might have been balanced-related, then morphed when I tried to remember via the BGG version of the rules

 

[Neverfade]

Played X-Wing again, this time with my actual gaming group. Really changed my outlook on it. I'm in. Now to hunt down a Falcon and Slave 1.

 

[piratepwnsninja]

Played X-Wing again, this time with my actual gaming group. Really changed my outlook on it. I'm in. Now to hunt down a Falcon and Slave 1.

I really plunged into it over the weekend. Good stuff.

So my studio head is selling a lot of his 1074 game collection. He has tons of stuff, some dating back to the late 1800s even. Anything I should be looking for in particular? I kind of get first crack at it before others at the studio.

 

[Lyng]

I honestly don't understand how selling board games survives as a model exclusively. I think board-game spaces, where maybe selling games is incidental revenue, are a fascinating idea though, and one that just appeals to me more as a consumer.

I wonder if it would be possible for GAF to design a new boardgame. I actually think such a thing might become really interesting.

 

[BomberMouse]

I saw Nations on sale at cardhaus for $50, now I own Nations despite not having any interest for it before. I'm so weak

 

[Lyng]

I saw Nations on sale at cardhaus for $50, now I own Nations despite not having any interest for it before. I'm so weak

Its been on my radar for a while. I like the fact that it looks like a simpler and faster TtA

 

[joelseph]

I really plunged into it over the weekend. Good stuff.

So my studio head is selling a lot of his 1074 game collection. He has tons of stuff, some dating back to the late 1800s even. Anything I should be looking for in particular? I kind of get first crack at it before others at the studio.

Space Hulk 1st or 3rd edition

 

[SillyEskimo]

Space Hulk 1st or 3rd edition

Winner winner chicken dinner

Personally, I would be looking for any of the Games Workshop big box games. Warhammer Quest, Tyranid Attack, Gorka Morka, Blood Bowl, Dungeon Bowl, Necromunda, Mordheim, and of course Space Hulk.

Space Hulk is my favorite board game of all time.

 

[Chorazin]

Woohoo, actually got a trade to work out on BGG! Got rid of my dusty copy of Kanzume Goddess (an Anime deckbuilder) that I impulse bought at PAX East and played once for Tzolk'in and Tokaido: The Crossroads. Apparently KG is rare these days, and I just got lucky with finding someone that really wanted it. We both shipped already and now I just gotta wait and hope I don't just get a box of rocks, lol.

Oh, and if anyone is looking for a really cool scorekeeping app, I found ScoreGeek the other day and it's super neat. Apparently it's availible for Android, iOS, and Windows Phone and keeps track of scores, calculates scores for games (like Science in 7 Wonders), and has a built in list of games, but you an create custom games and submit them to the app's online database. It'll break down wins/losses into percentage charts, by player and by game, and it has acheivements you get at the end of the game.

It'll even pull pictures and game info from BGG, and upload your plays and scores when you finish the game! It has cloud support to sync across devices, which is nice if you have devices across platforms, or want to sync your data across your gaming group. It's a little steep at $4 on Android, but i took the plunge and I'm super happy with it.

 

[piratepwnsninja]

Kingsburg + Expansion or Alien Frontier? Go!

I saw Kingsburg being played last night and had no idea what it was, so did some research and it seemed like people preferred one of these to the other.

 

[Karkador]

Troyes

 

[Affeinvasion]

Kingsburg + Expansion or Alien Frontier? Go!

I saw Kingsburg being played last night and had no idea what it was, so did some research and it seemed like people preferred one of these to the other.

I like Kingsburg a lot.

 

[CrudeDiatribe]

That is why you should draft them. Drafting cards is so much fun, you have partial control over the strategies you are planning on deploying. It's strategic bliss!

Do you draft both minor items and professions? If so, in what order?

 

[BomberMouse]

Kingsburg + Expansion or Alien Frontier? Go!

I saw Kingsburg being played last night and had no idea what it was, so did some research and it seemed like people preferred one of these to the other.

I think Alien Frontiers mid game is cooler, but the end is so ugh. Also, fuck game salute.

Do you draft both minor items and professions? If so, in what order?

At the same time, you draw 10 minor improvements and 10 professions, then keep 7 of each.

 

[Ohnonono]

I honestly don't understand how selling board games survives as a model exclusively. I think board-game spaces, where maybe selling games is incidental revenue, are a fascinating idea though, and one that just appeals to me more as a consumer.

When I asked him if he makes money off board games he said he did not. He keeps the inventory separate and board games lose him money every year. He keeps them around to keep people like me happy and because lots of us end up into something that prolly will make him money (miniatures, ccgs.) He said he MIGHT be able to make money off LCGs but you have to have the packs in stock. As soon as you sit on stock you start losing money, and LOTS of people use 10$ lcg packs online to hit free shipping on orders and stuff.