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[BattleMonkey]

Do you folks have any recommendations on great RPG-crawler games? On vacation, I played Talisman and enjoyed that, and have been reading about Castle Ravenloft, Descent (new edition announced at GenCon), and the rest. Would like anything that is similar or if you have any extended impressions, I'd love to hear them.

D&D board games like Ravenloft is nice for being quick and easy to play, but I think Descent is a far far superior game. Descent is also much more RPG like especially if you play with the campaign systems that add in full leveling up mechanics and such and chained together adventures.

 

[Neverfade]

So I bit the bullet and bought A Few Acres of Snow. This may be a total disaster. A costly, costly disaster.

 

[fenners]

So I bit the bullet and bought A Few Acres of Snow. This may be a total disaster. A costly, costly disaster.

You'll be able to flip it without much loss, if you didn't pay over the odds for it of course

 

[Neverfade]

Yeah that was my logic as well. I only paid MSRP. I didn't bother trying to find a limited edition. Though I thought I'd have an easier time finding wood bits to pimp it out. Anyone know where to buy catan-like buildings?

 

[Cathcart]

Probably could buy a couple of these for the settlements: http://mayfairgames.com/goody.php?id=244

And a few of these for the fortification thingies: http://mayfairgames.com/goody.php?id=245

Not gonna be super cheap, though.

 

[Neverfade]

I saw that, but at that price, if they're not going to paint them for me I'll pass.

 

[Cathcart]

Come on, man. Painting is cool. Don't you know boardgaming is a gateway hobby to arts and crafts?

 

[Flynn]

Can you give an estimate of speed of play: Downtime within each round and length of games?

I think the 30 minute estimate is pretty accurate once players know the drill.

Downtime isn't as much as an issue since players have a mandatory attack each round. That means that any creatures they've summoned will summon all the creatures you and the other players have summoned. Each player has a phase where they go around the table attacking everybody else. That kind of keeps you in the game even when it isn't your turn.

With that I'd say that the round goes slightly longer than Dominion, but not by much.

 

[UpperCaseN]

Thanks Stooge and Neverfade. I was checking out how the trading works on BGG, seems to be ideal but I only have 3 games I want to get rid of; I've only been boardgaming for a year and only have ~15 games or so total.

I think I'm going to try the Buy/Sell/Trade thread on GAF and then ebay if no offers. In case anyone's interested I'm posting Arkham Horror (base game, no expansions), Munchkin 1, 2, and 3 (plus Waiting for Santa booster pack), and A Touch of Evil (base game, no expansions).

edit: here's the post

 

[AstroLad]

so i'm the #6 rank on cm08 on yucata, played the #3 guy, and after the longest game ever no big surprise i suppose:

Thanks Stooge and Neverfade. I was checking out how the trading works on BGG, seems to be ideal but I only have 3 games I want to get rid of; I've only been boardgaming for a year and only have ~15 games or so total.

I've honestly had really good experiences with selling on ebay fwiw.

 

[sneaky77]

so i'm the #6 rank on cm08 on yucata, played the #3 guy, and after the longest game ever no big surprise i suppose:

I've honestly had really good experiences with selling on ebay fwiw.

oh wow.. lol.

 

[MichaelBD]

So I bit the bullet and bought A Few Acres of Snow. This may be a total disaster. A costly, costly disaster.

Last night I made it all the way to the "submit payment" screen via Paypal, but seeing the $15 for shipment and a $70 total scared me away. For $70 I feel like I can grab one of the big box FFGs I've been holding off on like Horus Heresy or Runewars.

I did some more digging on the Geek and according to the designer there is a shipment coming stateside for the distribution channel. I'll be keeping my eyes open for it to land at CSI or one of those places.

It does look pretty cool, I'm just not confident enough to drop $70 on it.

 

[MichaelBD]

Lately I've been playing a lot of Warhammer Invasion. I've gotten a little out of control with battle packs and expansion sets but I'm having a blast building decks (this is the first time I've ever deck built). My daughter has taken a shine to the game so I can build a deck and then have someone to test it out on.

And I bought Space Alert. I'm a big fan of Galaxy Trucker so I like the sense of humor the designer puts into his games (I also have Dungeon Lords but haven't played my copy yet).

 

[BattleMonkey]

Lately I've been playing a lot of Warhammer Invasion. I've gotten a little out of control with battle packs and expansion sets but I'm having a blast building decks (this is the first time I've ever deck built). My daughter has taken a shine to the game so I can build a deck and then have someone to test it out on.

And I bought Space Alert. I'm a big fan of Galaxy Trucker so I like the sense of humor the designer puts into his games (I also have Dungeon Lords but haven't played my copy yet).

Yea the LCG idea was cool, but they went overboard with the amount of expansion battle packs and frequency of their releases.

 

[MichaelBD]

Yea the LCG idea was cool, but they went overboard with the amount of expansion battle packs and frequency of their releases.

I think all the expansions offer a lot of options. You can enjoy the game however you want. There's plenty in the base game to keep you occupied if you are just looking for a quick filler, and if you want to dive into it more, there is always that as well.

I like the LCG idea and the modular way it works.

 

[Cathcart]

Last night I made it all the way to the "submit payment" screen via Paypal, but seeing the $15 for shipment and a $70 total scared me away.

Yeah, I did the same thing. As soon as it shows up on CSI I'm buying it, though.

Speaking of which, I'm putting together my next order now. Finally gonna grab Space Alert + expansion, Dominion: Intrigue and I'll probably throw in the 7 Wonders expansion. Yeah, that puts me over $100. Maybe I'll think about it for a few days.

 

[superrobot]

RE:Yucata
I think I understand Arkadia now. (Top Tip - Reading rules isn't just for squares!)

 

[Affeinvasion]

Argh can't wait for Quarriors to get here!

Add me on Yucata (affeinvasion)...I'd be interested in a game of Thunderstone beginner if someones wants to tolerate my noobness.

 

[platypotamus]

RE:Yucata
I think I understand Arkadia now. (Top Tip - Reading rules isn't just for squares!)

I still don't think I understand Egizia, and I read the rules twice.

(i.e., if you want free ranking points, invite me to games, haha)

 

[UpperCaseN]

Yesterday I read somewhere that King of Tokyo's 1st shipment arrives in the US tomorrow. I decided to put my order in at CSI since I have a few things I wasn't able to get at GenCon. I needed like $9 more to get free shipping but didn't know what, so I left the page open for nearly the entire day. I finally added something and started to check out, but during the day King of Tokyo went from preorder status to out of stock! Curses! I'll wait, that was the reason I was placing the order anyway.

During that I did a lot of thinking on what to fill my order out with though and when I finally settled on something, always turned out to be Out of Stock or between printings rather.

 

[AstroLad]

Yesterday I read somewhere that King of Tokyo's 1st shipment arrives in the US tomorrow. I decided to put my order in at CSI since I have a few things I wasn't able to get at GenCon. I needed like $9 more to get free shipping but didn't know what, so I left the page open for nearly the entire day. I finally added something and started to check out, but during the day King of Tokyo went from preorder status to out of stock! Curses! I'll wait, that was the reason I was placing the order anyway.

During that I did a lot of thinking on what to fill my order out with though and when I finally settled on something, always turned out to be Out of Stock or between printings rather.

That would be awesome -- Quarriors is supposedly coming out on CSI tomorrow too and I have those both in an order.

 

[MichaelBD]

That would be awesome -- Quarriors is supposedly coming out on CSI tomorrow too and I have those both in an order.

My CSI order from June (which has been waiting on Quarriors) went from "your order is waiting on a preorder" to "in queue" as of today. I'm hoping it ships tomorrow. If it does there is a slight chance I'll have it by Friday.

 

[Ogedai_Khan]

Saw a copy of Troyes at a local game store. I like the art and theme. Any good?

Here's a pretty comprehensive look at the game to give you an idea how it plays.
http://vimeo.com/21506169

 

[BomberMouse]

Here's a pretty comprehensive look at the game to give you an idea how it plays.
http://vimeo.com/21506169

Ugh, I hate that guy videos, at least tom vasel keeps it short. Scott Nicholson how I miss thou.

 

[Neverfade]

My CSI order from June (which has been waiting on Quarriors) went from "your order is waiting on a preorder" to "in queue" as of today. I'm hoping it ships tomorrow. If it does there is a slight chance I'll have it by Friday.

Quarriors has been listed as an Auguest 10th release at CSI for a while. It'll ship.

Edit: Holy shit. Just checked my account. Mine shipped today apparently. Maybe its the pre-ship? Dunno.

Ugh, I hate that guy videos, at least tom vasel keeps it short. Scott Nicholson how I miss thou.

Oh man. If I absolutely want to know how to play a game, UDV is my go to!

 

[Evlar]

Quarriors has been listed as an Auguest 10th release at CSI for a while. It'll ship.

Edit: Holy shit. Just checked my account. Mine shipped today apparently. Maybe its the pre-ship? Dunno.



Oh man. If I absolutely want to know how to play a game, UDV is my go to!

Mine is shipped too, and it has happened in the past 6 hours or so. It was still "pending" when I last checked, late this afternoon.

 

[BomberMouse]

Oh man. If I absolutely want to know how to play a game, UDV is my go to!

Usually me too, but only because he has little competition. IMHO his videos are way too long and have little preparation. A 50 minutes overview for Troyes, with mistakes and I still need to read the rules? Not for me. I usually only want a quick overview of the components and how the gameplay flows. Only then I like to watch a deeper overview or read the rules.

 

[Neverfade]

Diff'rent Strokes. I love it.

 

[AstroLad]

Nicholson was cool -- helped to introduce me to Gric even though he really only went over the basics in his video. It's too bad he prefers the more high-minded stuff because he could be amazing if he just did a straight how-to-play series. I've listened to the how to play podcast but I just have a hard time listening to that guy.

 

[MichaelBD]

Usually me too, but only because he has little competition. IMHO his videos are way too long and have little preparation. A 50 minutes overview for Troyes, with mistakes and I still need to read the rules? Not for me. I usually only want a quick overview of the components and how the gameplay flows. Only then I like to watch a deeper overview or read the rules.

The dude rambles too much. There is very little focus to his intros and his final thoughts. I do think he does a good job explaining rules but he often drones on.

 

[MichaelBD]

Mine is shipped too, and it has happened in the past 6 hours or so. It was still "pending" when I last checked, late this afternoon.

Mine is showing shipped now as well but no tracking info has been posted with Fedex.

I have Innovation on this order so I'm excited to play some more of that. To compensate we've been playing more Glory to Rome.

My quest to own all things Memoir 44 is moving along as well. This order will also bring me the Pacific expansion and the Breakthrough set.

 

[MichaelBD]

So, what do you guys think of sleeving cards? Has this been talked about?

I've only been in the hobby a few years now but I generally lean towards the "won't do it" side of the debate. However, I did sleeve my Twilight Struggle cards because of the disparate amount of shuffling between the Early/Mid war decks and the oft-never used End War deck.

And yesterday I ordered some sleeves to try out on my Warhammer Invasion cards. I've been playing the game a lot more recently and the quality of FFG's LCG cards is suspect. They use a thinner card stock and I've already noticed a couple of nicks on some of my cards. I hate the thought of trying to sleeve all the cards (I have 700+) but I can't see them holding up under a lot of use.

If a game has a static deck, like Glory to Rome or BattleLine or even Lost Cities and Famiglia, I don't worry about it because the wear will be even and I actually like the lived in feeling some of these heavy-use games are starting to get. Though if there is one thing I can't stand it's bent cards; a reason I won't play card games with my mother-in-law, as she just bends the cards out of shape as she plays.

 

[BattleMonkey]

I usually don't sleeve unless it's a game I'm taking around to different places like game stores

 

[Zalasta]

So, what do you guys think of sleeving cards? Has this been talked about?

I'd say it depends on:

1. How often you play it.
2. Are you a game owner or a collector?
3. Do you trade/sell games very often?
4. Is the game itself rare and valuable?
5. Will it negatively impact the gameplay?

 

[UpperCaseN]

So, what do you guys think of sleeving cards? Has this been talked about?

I'll sleeve just about anything I care about. I have one card from Catan that somehow get bent, so it's marked from the back. When randomly selecting, if it has that mark, I know it's lumber. Since then, I've been sleeving probably 4/5 games. I plan on playing these same games for many years and then playing them with my future kids and family.

I went with Mayday standard sleeves which are cheap and get the job done, but they're slippery, and I think in the heat they were sticking together? It was either that or I played with someone with sticky hands that got onto the plastic, I think it was the former though. But the slipperiness makes it so that the deck slides if you grab it the wrong way, really annoying.

My friend has some Ultra Pro sleeves on his cards and they are NIIIIIIIICE. He said it cost $10/pack though, so I guess you get what you pay for.

 

[Hero]

Think of sleeving your cards like putting a condom on. It doesn't feel as good with them on but it helps keep your stuff clean.

 

[narcosis219]

Think of sleeving your cards like putting a condom on. It doesn't feel as good with them on but it helps keep your stuff clean.

...but it makes shuffling cards a hell of a lot easier.

Instead of riffle shuffling which quickly damages cards, you can shuffle them like this.

 

[Neverfade]

The only thing I have sleeved is WOTR Collectors edition cards. Those motherfuckers are in hard case sleeves. Everything else is replaceable.

 

[Cathcart]

Me plus sleeves equals frowny face.

 

[AstroLad]

i like riffle shuffling

the only time it ever becomes an issue is uneven shuffling but even i don't play with people annoying enough to actually try to spot what kind of card is coming up by minor differentiations in wear

 

[StoOgE]

So, what do you guys think of sleeving cards? Has this been talked about?UOTE]

I have at this point sleeved almost all of my games for a variety of reasons. Some of my games cost too much to replace/are OOP. Then I started liking the way playing with sleeves felt and shuffling with them.

Then, there is the whole "Do I want to play this game 20 years from now?".. in most cases the answer is yes with my games. And several of them being OOP and the knowledge that several more of them *will* go OOP between now and when I turn 50 it makes sense to sleeve them to me.

It's not that I am a collector or anything, I just want to keep my games in good shape for the long haul.

 

[MichaelBD]

...but it makes shuffling cards a hell of a lot easier.

Instead of riffle shuffling which quickly damages cards, you can shuffle them like this.

I can usually still pull off one of these shuffles depending on what type of sleeve:

http://www.howtoshuffle.com/

It took some practice but the upside is you don't bend the cards as much.

 

[joeyjoejoeshabadoo]

I sent invites out for Roll Through the Ages and Founding Fathers.

 

[Hero]

...but it makes shuffling cards a hell of a lot easier.

Instead of riffle shuffling which quickly damages cards, you can shuffle them like this.

Oh no, I completely advocate sleeves for any board game cards. I'm a big Mtg player and have spent a decent amount of money for sleeves over the years. I was just being goofy and yes that is how to properly shuffle.

Also I feel like playing some games with GAFers on Yucata but I'm unfamiliar with a bunch of them. What are the most popular or fun games you guys play on it?

 

[AstroLad]

My favorite Yucata games:
Campaign Manager 2008 (2P)
Roll through the Ages
Founding Fathers
Thunderstone
Carcassonne: H&G
Oregon

 

[Hero]

I play Carcassonne with T&B and I&C, how is H&G?

 

[StoOgE]

I play Carcassonne with T&B and I&C, how is H&G?

It's essentially the base game of Carcassonne with less need for expansions (i.e. it has some of the regular pieces the base game was hurting for).

 

[platypotamus]

My favorites at the moment on there are:

Stone Age
Arkadia
Oregon
Carcassonne H&G
Vikings

I'm still in my first game of these couple, but I think they may make that list too:
Down Under
Thurn and Taxis

My least favorites (still play them, but am less enthusiastic):
Fearsome Floors
St Petersburg

 

[sneaky77]

I love yucata is great.

I need to become more familiar with a few games I played a couple of times but so far everything I have played is been fun.

CM was my first game so I think that will be in the top for a while.

Oregon is fun but I only played a couple games
Famigglia is enjoyable
Balloon cup

Thunderstone is interesting so far need to become more familiar with the dungeon rules.

 

[Affeinvasion]

I'm loving Thunderstone and can't wait to play a game with randomized cards.