lancerotomy
Neo Member
woof. roomies just got agricola. i have not heard a single criticism of this game yet.
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The New Board Game Thread (Newcomer Friendly)
- Thread starter AstroLad
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Buy it, don't worry about the sleeves for now. Determine if you want to sleeve after you've played a game or three.
Has anyone played Space Alert? If so, what are your impressions? I actually HAVE it, and have for almost 10 months but have yet to play it. I have yet to even read the directions! Haha.
I recently finished grad school so I finally have time to play table top games (and video games) again! It was much easier to play games I knew
I recently finished grad school so I finally have time to play table top games (and video games) again! It was much easier to play games I knew
BattleMonkey
Member
Did some Dungeon Run last night. Great light quick dungeon romp. A mix of coop and competitive and plays pretty well. Far enjoy this more than the D&D games.
I was looking forward to this game so much before it came out. I absolutely love the combat mechanic. However, it just doesn't work for two people. I ended up putting it up on the BGG math trade to see if I can get something a little more 2p-friendly.
UpperCaseN
Member
This is actually on my want list for the math trade. If you don't end up trading it and I don't end up getting it, I'd be willing to take it off your hands for the right price.
BattleMonkey
Member
It's definitely a more players the better. Don't really find any of the dungeon hack and slasher board games to be very 2p friendly though unless people run multiple characters
Other "dungeon crawlers" we've played have been:
Runebound - One character each. Fun, but a little long.
D&D: Ashardalon - One character each. Brutal game, don't care for it that much.
WoW: The Boardgame - One character each (if I recall correctly). Like this for the "phat loot", but super long. Tons of dice rolling is awesome too!
WoW: The Adventure Game - One character each. Don't remember much about this one, but nothing negative.
I think that's about it. I don't care about the number of players unless it negatively affects gameplay (like Dungeon Run and it's semi co-op/semi back-stabby) play. I don't mind a "race" game at all, and usually play more like a multi-person solitaire than anything. Just give me cool items and stuff and I'm pretty good with most games.
I'm really hoping that the 2nd edition of Descent has some type of gameplay that works well with two players, instead of needing a dedicated Overlord (DM). I think that game would be right up my alley.
flashburn2012
Member
I'd probably buy Mage Knight if I could find it for a decent price. Hopefully the second printing comes out soon. Sounds like it's pretty good for 2 players.
BattleMonkey
Member
Er well hopefully not a Descent was fine as it was, already worried that they are going to change it too much. Never liked the WoW board games, so hard to say. Hate the D&D board games though, the whole encounter mechanics they use are awful
Claustrophobia! 2 players only, dungeon crawler, plays in about an hour if you know the rules, easy to grasp rules for combat & movement. Only gotcha could be the asymmetrical play - one player "runs" a team of humans with an objective, another "runs" the dungeon.
I've got Claustrophobia, and dig it quite a bit. I don't see it as a "dungeon crawler" though. A dungeon crawler needs to have the loot and preferably a leveling system.
Re: Descent - I know Descent is a well-loved dungeon-crawler RPG-type of game, and I'm sure it's awesome the way it is. But as a two-player game, I don't think it would work too well. I'll admit I haven't played Descent before, so maybe it works as a two-player game. From reading some reviews and such, I think it probably works better with 4 or 5 people though.
Has anyone played Space Alert? If so, what are your impressions? I actually HAVE it, and have for almost 10 months but have yet to play it. I have yet to even read the directions! Haha.
I recently finished grad school so I finally have time to play table top games (and video games) again! It was much easier to play games I knew
I'm in the same boat w/r/t Space Alert except replace 10 months with two years. There's always something that prevents me from playing it when I otherwise would -- either I don't have a good audio output, or not enough people, or it's too complex for the group I'm with, not enough time, etc. etc. I suppose instead of playing Arkham last week we could have done Space Alert. Everyone who actually plays it seems to love it.
Played Eclipse last week at our regular boardgame night. Five players, three of which were first time players including me. The other two only had played a two player game once.
Game took six hours.
It is a great game, but shit, I don't really think I like playing a six hour euro game (I consider it more euro than AT for sure).
I suppose with repeated plays, we could get that down to maybe five hours (this is including setup and tear-down)... maybe less. Box says 30 minutes a player. I don't see how that's possible unless you're smoking through every action.
Game took six hours.
It is a great game, but shit, I don't really think I like playing a six hour euro game (I consider it more euro than AT for sure).
I suppose with repeated plays, we could get that down to maybe five hours (this is including setup and tear-down)... maybe less. Box says 30 minutes a player. I don't see how that's possible unless you're smoking through every action.
How are you on the directions? I only made it half way though last time I tried to read them.
flashburn2012
Member
I've played two 2 player games so far. First took us about 2 1/2 hours, second took 2 hours. None of that includes setup/teardown. I have read that quite a few people are playing at around 30 minutes per player like the box says, but we tend to have a decent amount of AP. I think next time we can get down to maybe 1 1/2 hours, but I don't see ever getting down to 1 hour for 2 players.
Space Alert is definitely one of the more intimidating games out there. The book which walks you through teaching it is very well done though and helps in this regard.
If you want to commit to getting into your groups regular rotation, I can't recommend enough the expansion because it adds persistence to your characters. They gain xp, level up, earn special skills and specializations. It really gives players more investment opportunity for the game which I think it needs to offset the intimidation.
If you want to commit to getting into your groups regular rotation, I can't recommend enough the expansion because it adds persistence to your characters. They gain xp, level up, earn special skills and specializations. It really gives players more investment opportunity for the game which I think it needs to offset the intimidation.
That's odd. I've done four player games in around 3 hours max, that's including breaks and bickering with each other and some AP once and a while.
There's definitely some analysis paralysis going on...but still. My group is all a bunch of friends IRL as it is... so there's lots of table banter going on and talking about other things which I'm sure contributes to that. I guess that's just the reality that our playtime skews higher than normal.
Is the expansion a must have? I ask because usually it is hard(er) to teach games with more rules than the base set.
In my opinion, it is. It doesn't really add too much in terms of complexity.
Check out the rules at http://czechgames.com/files/Space_Alert_expansion_EN.pdf
timetokill
Banned
Looking forward to it!
flashburn2012
Member
Do it!
joeyjoejoeshabadoo
Member
Sure post it.
Add me to the "have Space Alert but never played it" group. I guess I kind of just throw that Vlaad guy my money because I really like Galaxy Trucker.
I have Dungeon Lords (played someone else's copy over a year ago but haven't played my copy) and I have Space Alert.
I also want to pick up Mage Knight but at least I know that will definitely get played.
I have Dungeon Lords (played someone else's copy over a year ago but haven't played my copy) and I have Space Alert.
I also want to pick up Mage Knight but at least I know that will definitely get played.
joeyjoejoeshabadoo
Member
I've found that besides Galaxy Trucker Vlaada's games seem really hard to teach. I ended up trading away Dungeon Lords without playing it because I found teaching the damn thing was too daunting.
flashburn2012
Member
Dungeon Petz is my first Vlaada game, but it seemed pretty easy to teach when I played it with Shagrath.
Those puzzles around the fights with the heroes are super important.
platypotamus
Member
Dungeon Lords was kind of a pain to teach, but so worth it once people get the hang of it.
flashburn2012
Member
Only thing that keeps stopping me from getting Dungeon Lords is that it'd only be 2 of us playing it. Not really sure about having 2 dummy players, sounds kind of awful.
platypotamus
Member
Yeah, the two player is the weakest way to play.
flashburn2012
Member
Does it work where basically the dummy player gets 3 actions, but 2 of the actions are random, and a player chooses the other action? Does it work basically as blockers? I didn't mind the 2 player mechanics in Dungeon Petz at all.
JetBlackPanda
Member
Sorry it took a few days for me to respond but thanks for the info on the Card Sleeves for Dominion. I am just going to leave them as is. (no card sleeves)
Holy shit, after playing through the tutorial scenarios, Earth Reborn has become the manifestation of my dreams for a fun, thematic, small arms tactical game.
Really, the scenario tutorials are the best implementation of rules learning I've experienced from a board game.
It might look cheesy, but please if you enjoy games like x-com or Jagged alliance pick this up.
Really, the scenario tutorials are the best implementation of rules learning I've experienced from a board game.
It might look cheesy, but please if you enjoy games like x-com or Jagged alliance pick this up.
narcosis219
Member
No problems with cards being bent that way. Unless you're leaving a barrel of water on the box, it should be fine.
That's odd considering DL comes with a tutorial board. But, it does have a lot of different mechanics so I can see where you're coming from. Personally, I haven't found a Vlaada game I hate yet.
joeyjoejoeshabadoo
Member
The training board was a start but there is just way too much going on in that game to easily convey to someone on their first go. Every time I tried to think about how I was going to teach it I gave up and found another game to play. It's a shame because I do want to play it, I just don't want to teach it.
joeyjoejoeshabadoo
Member
Nice! I should be getting my 2nd ed cards soon. I already told my friend to read the rule book so we can throw down.
1 on 1 is okay but 3 or 4 players is the sweet spot. 5-6 is just pure chaos but the fun kind of chaos.
flashburn2012
Member
I picked up Mage Knight tonight from CSI. Holy shit, this game looks insane. The rulebooks look pretty daunting too, they are fairly long with a tiny font. I'm going to try to figure this game out tomorrow.
My only complaint is the card stock is beyond pathetic, it is super thin, as rough as cardboard, and has this fake linen design on the cards. I'll be sleeving them though, so it won't matter too much. All of the rest of the components look great, even though the tiles have that same fake linen design on them.
My only complaint is the card stock is beyond pathetic, it is super thin, as rough as cardboard, and has this fake linen design on the cards. I'll be sleeving them though, so it won't matter too much. All of the rest of the components look great, even though the tiles have that same fake linen design on them.
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