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[Castor Krieg]

Hmm, that's strange, all the reviews mentioned how Thunderstone managed to become a lot different than Dominion. Then again it's a fantasy theme, so it gets immediate -1 from my fiancee.

So far my "get your better half into board games" looks like this:

1. Call of Cthulhu LCG Core Set - I think she will like the investigators/mystery theme, I would need to do all the deck building for her though - any ideas what combinations work best in the Core Set?

2. Dominion - deck-building but as I understand it without all the tiresome analysis that goes into preconstructed decks like MtG, correct? Also theme feels "neutral".

3. Mr. Jack - that would be right her alley, if I can get it for below 30USD. It's 32EUR here, no way I'm paying this much of money given the contents of the box.

Any last pick?

 

[Artadius]

Neverfade doesn't like to play boardgames. He'd rather complain about them

 

[Vinci]

Any last pick?

Probably a suggestion out of left field - I certainly don't have the collections that these guys do - but a game that helped get my wife into playing board games with me was Senet. It's a game created in ancient Egypt and it's very luck-oriented, but there's some small strategic elements that can play into how things turn out in the end. I don't know. Not a heavy game, but certainly an entertaining one once you figure out how to screw around with the other player.

 

[joeyjoejoeshabadoo]

The next and only other deck builder I'll buy is Quarriors. I've learned my lesson.

I think I'm with you on this one. Dominion is the only one I really like and Quarriors seems to at least add something different to the genre.

 

[Chorazin]

Then again it's a fantasy theme, so it gets immediate -1 from my fiancee.

2. Dominion - deck-building but as I understand it without all the tiresome analysis that goes into preconstructed decks like MtG, correct? Also theme feels "neutral".

Any last pick?

Ehhhhhh.....Dominion definitely skews more toward a low magic fantasy Reaissance-era universe with it's art. The "game" itself has no theme, but the art does.

What genres does your GF like other than crime/investigation?

 

[Neverfade]

Any last pick?

Battleline is like catnip for my girlfriend. YMMV.

 

[Castor Krieg]

What genres does your GF like other than crime/investigation?

Nothing particular other than that. She dislikes fantasy, couldn't read LotR, or even sit through the first movie. Tried Dragonriders of Pern - nothing. Asimov's Foundation - nah. She likes crime, drama TV series - House, Bones, Fringe.

 

[Chorazin]

Nothing particular other than that. She dislikes fantasy, couldn't read LotR, or even sit through the first movie. Tried Dragonriders of Pern - nothing. Asimov's Foundation - nah. She likes crime, drama TV series - House, Bones, Fringe.

Huh. Maybe try Forbidden Island? Or Pandemic? Not one of her genres but not too far removed.

 

[Castor Krieg]

Huh. Maybe try Forbidden Island? Or Pandemic? Not one of her genres but not too far removed.

I can try Forbidden Island if I can get it for a reasonable price. Pandemic seems to me like it would be good to have other people.

My main problem with majority of non-complex games is that they don't scale well with price - Mr. Jack costs the same here in Poland as Dominion does, which for a price-conscious person such as myself is insane.

 

[BigAT]

Has anyone here played much Greed Corp? I have the XBLA version and while I haven't put as much time into as I would like, it certainly seems like a well made game.

Anyway, there's a Steam sale going on for the PC version right now. $2.49 or $7.49 for a 4-pack.

 

[BomberMouse]

Has anyone here played much Greed Corp? I have the XBLA version and while I haven't put as much time into as I would like, it certainly seems like a well made game.

Anyway, there's a Steam sale going on for the PC version right now. $2.49 or $7.49 for a 4-pack.

I bought it on PSN but only finished the first campaing, well worth it IMO. it's pretty much a boardgame that could never be due to the sinking land mechanics.

 

[Neverfade]

Holy shit. I tried to wing a video overview of Black Gold, but I came across as an ass. Gonna have to write my thoughts out first haha.

 

[Flynn]

There's a new iOS board game created specifically for the platform (not an adaptation) -- Cargo Runners.

The game is handsome as hell and plays nicely, but feels really light. They call it light Euro, but I'd say it feels even lighter than Ticket to Ride.

Score: Meh out of 5.

 

[MichaelBD]

Last night we played a pretty epic 5-player game of Dominant Species. The more I play this game the more I like it. Our games have been clocking in at around 3 to 3.5 hours but last night's took 4. We had one new player so factor in teaching time of about half an hour and we came in right at the average.

I came in second; lost by 4 points. The person who won had spent a fair amount of time complaining about being in last place. This is the second time in a row the person in last place has won after Ice Age and final scoring, which you would assume illustrates the no-brainer idea that you need to pay close attention to final positioning, but our games have been more about chipping at the leader (which I was for a fair portion of the game) at the expense of giving the last place person a "free ride."

Anyway, it's an awesome game and it's now one of my favorites.

 

[joeyjoejoeshabadoo]

Holy shit. I tried to wing a video overview of Black Gold, but I came across as an ass. Gonna have to write my thoughts out first haha.

How was the game?

 

[Castor Krieg]

Just registered on Yucata as CastorKrieg, I will read/watch videos of Campaign Manager 08 tommorow, and dive right in. Is playing all games on Yucata free of charge?

 

[AstroLad]

Any BG gaffers on G+ or want to be on there just pm me your email or name or whatever. Trying to get a little board game circle together.

 

[Flynn]

Just played my first round of Battles For Westeros -- it is certainly more involved than either Memoir of 44 or Battle Lore. Will be playing a few more rounds in the weeks to come, but I think this is a keeper.

 

[platypotamus]

Any BG gaffers on G+ or want to be on there just pm me your email or name or whatever. Trying to get a little board game circle together.

I just PMed you soooo hard

 

[AstroLad]

niice . . . i'll add you guys as soon as i get invites again as they're on lockdown atm

 

[Castor Krieg]

Some Yucata questions:

1. Is there a way to just type a username to add to a buddy list, or do I first have to do it in-game?

2. Started playing CM'08, what is the default time for making a move? Will I see what move he made if I just close the browser and re-open it later?

3. Is there any reason why I shouldn't be playing Ranking Games right away?

 

[platypotamus]

Some Yucata questions:

1. Is there a way to just type a username to add to a buddy list, or do I first have to do it in-game?

2. Started playing CM'08, what is the default time for making a move? Will I see what move he made if I just close the browser and re-open it later?

1. If you go to the players menu, player list, you can type a username down at the bottom to search for it, then add to buddy list from there.

2. There's no time limits, it's all asynchronous. Most of us take turns once or twice a day, though with 2 player games like CM or Balloon Cup, it's pretty common to end up with both players online at once taking turns back and forth (especially late at night with Astrolad, who may be part vampire).

You will be notified that it's your turn (in whichever game has been waiting for you the longest) with a little pop-up thing, so long as your game window is open. Sadly, the latest version of firefox makes that a less intrusive popup, so sometimes I won't notice (I usually leave my game window open constantly while at my computer, unless I'm super busy).

 

[Castor Krieg]

Oh man, Campaign Manager 2008 is so much fun. Plus, I still suck at Thurn und Taxis. This website is great.

 

[AstroLad]

1. If you go to the players menu, player list, you can type a username down at the bottom to search for it, then add to buddy list from there.

2. There's no time limits, it's all asynchronous. Most of us take turns once or twice a day, though with 2 player games like CM or Balloon Cup, it's pretty common to end up with both players online at once taking turns back and forth (especially late at night with Astrolad, who may be part vampire).

You will be notified that it's your turn (in whichever game has been waiting for you the longest) with a little pop-up thing, so long as your game window is open. Sadly, the latest version of firefox makes that a less intrusive popup, so sometimes I won't notice (I usually leave my game window open constantly while at my computer, unless I'm super busy).

i'm even more vampire now that i'm on the west coast

Oh man, Campaign Manager 2008 is so much fun. Plus, I still suck at Thurn und Taxis. This website is great.

Yes, it is totally awesome. Nothing else even comes close.

 

[Castor Krieg]

More update on "getting fiancee into boardgames" front. To my great surprise the most attractive element proved to be the theme. She ended up grilling me for 30 minutes over Ghost Stories after checking the theme and the art! Hello AmeriThrash, bye-bye Euro's

Anything cartoony similar to Ghost Stories? I don't want Small World, it's a very non-complex game. What makes GS great is the number of things you have to do.

Did my research and came up with a short list:

1. Gosu
2. Arcana (waiting for re-print from FFG)
3. Olympos (waiting for reviews)

Anything else? I don't want the new dice-building game (Quoriors?).

 

[StoOgE]

what kind of themes does she like?

Also, I just bought Cosmic Encounter with both expansions.

Had 60 bucks in Amazon credit + prime shipping.

 

[Castor Krieg]

what kind of themes does she like?

As I said before she is a big fan of detective and mystery games, but took to Ghost Story because of cartoon graphics and the theme of exorcising ghosts (she's Chinese, so maybe the idea of Taoist village and Asian ghosts resonates well).

I got her Mr. Jack, I think she will have a lot of fun with that. Plus the game is also kinda cartoony, the characters have a nice touch to them. Tried to find Geeklist on BGG listing games with great/cartoon art, but didn't find anything.

Really excited she like the game so much, can't wait to play it with her. If it works then there's White Moon and another expansion coming

 

[Doublethink]

Board game night started off with a 6-player game of Steam (base game). It was the first time playing for me and three others and none of us had any experience with Wallace's other train games so we had no idea what we were getting into. This game is absolutely brutal. Me and another player fell behind really early. I wasted my early turns building one long railroad that was only worth one point while the other guy had to build on much more expensive terrain. We were both struggling to just not be eliminated while the most experienced player went on to win comfortably. Even though I struggled in the game, I still thought it was a lot of fun. I definitely like it much more than Brass. I don't think I want to try the advanced game though, as I thought the role cards in the base game worked perfectly.

After that the group split up into two and I went to join the group playing Troyes (other group went to play Age of Industry--no way I was playing two brain burners back to back). Really liking this game. I saw some new event cards this time. There was a lot of neutral-ness going on. Neutral citizens were being placed in the palace and neutral cubes were being placed in the cathedral and event cards. I kept getting kicked out of the buildings so I was pretty much had to buy dice if I wanted to do an action. I ended up winning because I placed one of my guys on a Level 3 activity card that lets you use yellow dice to score victory points and I got there early enough to activate it several times.

 

[StoOgE]

As I said before she is a big fan of detective and mystery games, but took to Ghost Story because of cartoon graphics and the theme of exorcising ghosts (she's Chinese, so maybe the idea of Taoist village and Asian ghosts resonates well).

I got her Mr. Jack, I think she will have a lot of fun with that. Plus the game is also kinda cartoony, the characters have a nice touch to them. Tried to find Geeklist on BGG listing games with great/cartoon art, but didn't find anything.

Really excited she like the game so much, can't wait to play it with her. If it works then there's White Moon and another expansion coming

White Moon is supposed to be insanely hard.

Look into a couple of my favorite themed games:

Last Night on Earth - Zombie game. 1 player is the zombie, up to 4 players are surviving townspeople. Works well with 2p as one just takes over the survivors.

Pandemic - another fun co-op game that has a nice theme of the world coming to an end via disease.

Um.. I guess that's about it for 2p games that are thematic that I own.

But check them out, I think they could work. Pandemic has something of a detective theme in that you are searching for cures. and it's co-op. LNOE doesn't really have the theme you are looking for, but zombies are awesome and not Fantasy.

 

[platypotamus]

Anything cartoony similar to Ghost Stories? I don't want Small World, it's a very non-complex game. What makes GS great is the number of things you have to do.

Did my research and came up with a short list:

1. Gosu

My board game group will be trying this for the first time within a week or two probably. Brother in law acquired it, but we haven't had a chance to try yet. I'll report in after we do.

The most cartoony games in my own collection (purely art/theme wise) are:

1. Glory to Rome - super cartoony art, brutally complex mechanics. Fun card game with sick combos, but WAY heavier than the art makes it look. I absolutely love it though!

2. Galaxy Truckers - Kinda silly/cartoony space theme. Lightish mechanics (build your ship with puzzle tile laying quickly, then watch as the universe destroys it).

3. Dungeon Lords - Cartoony Dungeon Keeper-like board game. Don't let adventurers wreck your dark dungeon. Cartoony imps and monsters.

I guess my collection isn't particularly cartoony though.

 

[Castor Krieg]

My board game group will be trying this for the first time within a week or two probably. Brother in law acquired it, but we haven't had a chance to try yet. I'll report in after we do.

I heard a lot of good things about Gosu, this will probably be my next purchase. Thanks a lot for the recommendations guys, will try and get some of those games! If GS goes well I will ofc get White Moon, I will also try Pandemic, had it on my radar for a while.

 

[CrudeDiatribe]

Long time reader, first time poster, etc.

Three of us played Race For The Galaxy for the first time this afternoon. Really enjoyed it. A lighter, less interactive version Puerto-Rico, I thought. Wouldn't mind a more interactive take on the theme.

 

[AstroLad]

Long time reader, first time poster, etc.

Three of us played Race For The Galaxy for the first time this afternoon. Really enjoyed it. A lighter, less interactive version Puerto-Rico, I thought. Wouldn't mind a more interactive take on the theme.

You should play Citadels. Lighter even, but crazy interactive. Innovation is sort of in the same ballpark in terms of tableau-building and also very interactive.

 

[Doublethink]

Long time reader, first time poster, etc.

Three of us played Race For The Galaxy for the first time this afternoon. Really enjoyed it. A lighter, less interactive version Puerto-Rico, I thought. Wouldn't mind a more interactive take on the theme.

I guess it's lighter in that the game takes less time, but man, Race for the Galaxy was such a pain trying to explain to my friends. All of the symbols really intimidated them. I actually introduced Puerto Rico first to get them used to role selection.

 

[fenners]

I guess it's lighter in that the game takes less time, but man, Race for the Galaxy was such a pain trying to explain to my friends. All of the symbols really intimidated them. I actually introduced Puerto Rico first to get them used to role selection.

Yeah, Race is hard to introduce, but once you get to grips with the iconography, it can play /really/ quickly because of it.

 

[Piecake]

I guess it's lighter in that the game takes less time, but man, Race for the Galaxy was such a pain trying to explain to my friends. All of the symbols really intimidated them. I actually introduced Puerto Rico first to get them used to role selection.

Yea, I actually just downloaded the online RFTG player and I am horribly confused. No idea what any of those symbols mean or what I am doing.

I've played Settlers quite a bit, but am really looking for something a bit more complicated. Stumbling into this topic, it seemed like that game fit the bill (and seemed interesting), but man, is there a good website that goes over the basic rules and gives tips/advice for new players?

 

[AstroLad]

Yea, I actually just downloaded the online RFTG player and I am horribly confused. No idea what any of those symbols mean or what I am doing.

I've played Settlers quite a bit, but am really looking for something a bit more complicated. Stumbling into this topic, it seemed like that game fit the bill (and seemed interesting), but man, is there a good website that goes over the basic rules and gives tips/advice for new players?

this one for starters: http://www.riograndegames.com/uploads/Game/Game_240_gameRules.pdf

RFTG is really tough to learn on Keldon though since it's not at all intended to be an introduction to the game. I generally prefer to teach San Juan first to non-gamers because as much as I love RFTG I think it makes a terrible gateway game.

 

[Flynn]

I love teaching Race For The Galaxy, but I get the impression that people hate learning it.

 

[superrobot]

lurk shields disabled

We've got a lunchtime session going every so often. Dominion has gone down well.
Tried teaching RFTG - I think they got it near the end but I don't think they are going to demand it back again.

I like the look of Paris Connection though - http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/75358/paris-connection
30 minutes - stocks + trains game. Must resist.

 

[AstroLad]

yeah you have to play san juan first! i think it's not just the concepts, it's also that once you learn san juan a lot of the complexity in rftg seems really cool in terms of how it allows for many strategies, whereas otherwise it can tend to be overwhelming

 

[superrobot]

yeah you have to play san juan first! i think it's not just the concepts, it's also that once you learn san juan a lot of the complexity in rftg seems really cool in terms of how it allows for many strategies, whereas otherwise it can tend to be overwhelming

Yes - you are probably right - I've not played San Juan, just been smashed by Keldon's AI many many times. They were lured in by the promise of SPACE! GUNS! ALIENS!

Might see if I can get Stone Age going too.

 

[Doublethink]

Yes - you are probably right - I've not played San Juan, just been smashed by Keldon's AI many many times. They were lured in by the promise of SPACE! GUNS! ALIENS!

Might see if I can get Stone Age going too.

Stone Age is a game that has gone down very well whenever I introduce it. It does tend to run kinda long though, around 1.5-2 hours. I don't know if it's a game you can run during a lunch time.

 

[superrobot]

Stone Age is a game that has gone down very well whenever I introduce it. It does tend to run kinda long though, around 1.5-2 hours. I don't know if it's a game you can run during a lunch time.

Thanks for the advice. I guessed it would be a stretch.
I think I'm going to have to cancel "Agricola Fridays" now too

Have people found 7 wonders easy to teach/pick up. That's another one on my radar.

 

[AstroLad]

Stone Age is a great gateway game imo, but it does run a bit long with 3 (1.5 hrs) - 4 (2) people.

I think Kingsburg is maybe 20m less and equally good as a gateway.

Roll through the Ages plays very quickly and is quite fun and is sort of worker-placementish (though lighter than the two above).

 

[superrobot]

Stone Age is a great gateway game imo, but it does run a bit long with 3 (1.5 hrs) - 4 (2) people.

I think Kingsburg is maybe 20m less and equally good as a gateway.

Roll through the Ages plays very quickly and is quite fun and is sort of worker-placementish (though lighter than the two above).

Cool - So many games though - running out of places to hide them from Mrs Robot (only so much room in the car!).

 

[CrudeDiatribe]

You should play Citadels. Lighter even, but crazy interactive. Innovation is sort of in the same ballpark in terms of tableau-building and also very interactive.

We've had Citadels for years. Works with some people and others it's so bad due to their indecisiveness. The bad games outweigh the good ones in my mind, so I never suggest it.

The tableau isn't as fun as only the purple cards have special powers (IIRC).

I guess it's lighter in that the game takes less time, but man, Race for the Galaxy was such a pain trying to explain to my friends. All of the symbols really intimidated them.

Yeah, I meant lighter in terms of time and also the thought I was putting into playing it. It wasn't that hard for three experienced eurogamers to figure out*, and I've played enough wargames that anything without a CRT and TEC is pretty fluffy.

*except the purpose/meaning chart on the Gambling Planet card. Yay for Google/BGG.

--

We introduced Agricola to another couple a few weeks ago; they're young professionals that work a lot, married a year. They admitted the next morning that it caused a small existential crisis when they went to bed: "you have to work and work and work just to get food on the table and then you're expected to have babies and there's not enough time for everything!"

 

[protonion]

Only child, rest of family and friends don't care. Any good sinlge player games?

I saw dozens in BGG but which of them are actually good for one person?

 

[BomberMouse]

I saw dozens in BGG but which of them are actually good for one person?

I've yet to try it but I discovered some old solo games are now P&P, like Barbarian Prince, otherwise I guess almost any coop game like Arkham Horror or Ghost Stories might qualify.

Why don't you try an online site like Yucata and play with the rest of us though

 

[FnordChan]

Have people found 7 wonders easy to teach/pick up. That's another one on my radar.

Last night I taught 7 Wonders to a group of folks with only two previous games under my belt. The first game was a bit rough, with yours truly consulting the rulebook every few minutes, the entire table peering at the two symbol charts included with the game, and a few details flubbed here and there, but between teaching and playing it didn't take longer than, say, 45 minutes or so. The next two games we tore through in 25-30 minutes or so, and by the end of the evening everyone had a solid grasp of the game. The symbol barrage isn't nearly as complicated as, say, Race For The Galaxy, and while it may take a couple of games for new board gamers to get used to the civ building aspects, I think a group into Dominion would get the hang of it in short order.

Another fast-paced game you may want to look into is Cosmic Encounter, a game of space conquest and alien powers run amok. You can generally knock out Cosmic games in an hour or so, depending on how ludicrous things get. It's a classic and the new Fantasy Flight edition is top notch. Check it out!

Speaking of 7 Wonders, I had the chance to play with the Leaders expansion this weekend and I thought it really added to the game. The leader drafting mechanic is easily integrated into the base game, it only slows down the overall game by a few minutes, and once the leaders are in play the cards start bouncing off each other in interesting ways. Having barely put my new copy of 7 Wonders to use, I'm already planning on springing for the expansion, even if it is kinda steep at a MSRP of thirty bucks.

Any good single player games?

I'd second the recommendation for a cooperative game like Arkham Horror. Normally, it would be you and a few friends all teaming up to defeat what the game throws at you, but you can still have a good time with the game by playing multiple characters. It may not be an optimal way to play, but even if you don't get to enjoy gaming banter you can still get into the heavy thematic elements of Arkham Horror. And, with luck, once you have the rules under your belt perhaps you could talk a friend into giving it a shot with you.

For a crunchier, Euro-style strategy game, the main thing that comes to mind is Agricola, the game of farming and pain. Agricola has been criticised for being a bit too much like multi-player solitaire, so it's not much of a leap to just play it solo. The goal in the solitaire variant is to hit a target number of points and it's no easy task, so be warned that I meant it when I mentioned pain. Woo boy. Of course, an even better way to play would be online with other GAFers (or whoever), but if it was just you at home at the kitchen table, you'd still have a good (if occasionally traumatic) time with Agricola.

FnordChan

 

[superrobot]

Last night I taught 7 Wonders to a group of folks with only two previous games under my belt. The first game was a bit rough, with yours truly consulting the rulebook every few minutes, the entire table peering at the two symbol charts included with the game, and a few details flubbed here and there, but between teaching and playing it didn't take longer than, say, 45 minutes or so. The next two games we tore through in 25-30 minutes or so, and by the end of the evening everyone had a solid grasp of the game. The symbol barrage isn't nearly as complicated as, say, Race For The Galaxy, and while it may take a couple of games for new board gamers to get used to the civ building aspects, I think a group into Dominion would get the hang of it in short order.

Super stuff. My trigger finger is itching.

Another fast-paced game you may want to look into is Cosmic Encounter, a game of space conquest and alien powers run amok. You can generally knock out Cosmic games in an hour or so, depending on how ludicrous things get. It's a classic and the new Fantasy Flight edition is top notch. Check it out!

Not sure if this has reached the UK yet - seems to be OOP.

For a crunchier, Euro-style strategy game, the main thing that comes to mind is Agricola, the game of farming and pain. Agricola has been criticised for being a bit too much like multi-player solitaire, so it's not much of a leap to just play it solo. The goal in the solitaire variant is to hit a target number of points and it's no easy task, so be warned that I meant it when I mentioned pain. Woo boy. Of course, an even better way to play would be online with other GAFers (or whoever), but if it was just you at home at the kitchen table, you'd still have a good (if occasionally traumatic) time with Agricola.

FnordChan

Halfway through a poor scoring Agricola series myself - just broken 50 points on my 4th game (this should be the goal of the first game!) - I think I'm getting distracted by minor improvements and occupations.