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The New Board Game Thread (Newcomer Friendly)

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sneaky77

Member
I love the dice tower..especially the Miami Dice reviews.

I think Toms very honest with his reviews but he grades on the same scale as the game industry its 7 to 10..and as long as you know that he's very reliable if you agree with his tastes.
That said he rarely blatantly trashes a game he doesn't like, he tries to be polite, but if you watch enough of his reviews you can get a real sense for what he likes..and the other guy on the Miami Dice reviews is more openly critical of what he doesn't like vs Tom.

In Tom speak "I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE this game" is a 10(everyone should have it)
"hmm this is a good game but not a great game" is a 7(if your a fan of the genre get it, if not pass)

lol yeah that's the impression I got, thanks for chiming in.

Also thanks for the dominion suggestions to the ones that chimed in on that
 

StoOgE

First tragedy, then farce.
I love the dice tower..especially the Miami Dice reviews.

I think Toms very honest with his reviews but he grades on the same scale as the game industry its 7 to 10..and as long as you know that he's very reliable if you agree with his tastes.
That said he rarely blatantly trashes a game he doesn't like, he tries to be polite, but if you watch enough of his reviews you can get a real sense for what he likes..and the other guy on the Miami Dice reviews is more openly critical of what he doesn't like vs Tom.

In Tom speak "I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE this game" is a 10(everyone should have it)
"hmm this is a good game but not a great game" is a 7(if your a fan of the genre get it, if not pass)

This is true. After a while you can tell what he likes and what he doesn't. He just doesn't usually bag on games even if he doesn't like them.

The main thing I have to watch out for is Tom loves him some thematic games, so I just had to learn to parse it through my own filter. "Ok, he is going nuts for this game, but that might have a lot to do with the fact that it has really cool minis than anything gameplay related".
 
For those on yucata:

I got invited to a bunch of games I don't know how to play, and rather than accept them and let them stop my turn taking on games I do know, I am waiting until I have a chance to read the rules before I accept. So probably sometime this weekend. Sorry!

Unrelated:

Probably trying Dungeon Petz tonight. Started reading THOSE rules, and am pretty encouraged. 2Player implementation seems tighter than Dungeon Lords too, which is nice.
 

StoOgE

First tragedy, then farce.
Speaking of slothninja.com is a neat site for online. It's small, but has some good games.

I've been talking to the owner since he has Tammany Hall up, but he has liberate as well.
 

MichaelBD

Member
is sleeving cards recommended?
I kind of like the "loved" feel that used cards start to develop over time.

However, I do use sleeves for some games, especially if they require a lot of shuffling (like Warhammer: Invasion and Twilight Struggle).

But I find it quaint that my Memoir 44 cards show some slight wear and tear from all the games of it I've played.
 
Played my first game of Smallworld last night at a friends house. It was the 'Underground' version I do believe. 5-player setup and whole lot of fun. At the end we set aside 5 tokens and counted the rest. Then we went around and turned one each time. It really added a nice tension to the end :p

iqiGzlcF3xhop.jpg


Of course, I ended up coming up a lowly fifth but I really enjoyed the game.

iHUt3M3c5zN1t.jpg


ibnyZmYvHCd9ds.jpg


Really enjoyed the artwork, especially on the cultists.

I got sooo screwed over starting off as the 5th player though. Ended up with some muddy orgres which would have been doing well, had the two ladies playing decided to scheme together. Naturally, I had to squezze in between two armies, an unfortunate fate indeed.
 

bloodydrake

Cool Smoke Luke
Nice session report!
I think small worlds has become my goto game for newgamers..its got enough to it that I can enjoy playing it and its lighthearted theme seems to go over well.
Really love the badges and race variety, each game having completely different combo's has really made it more fun.
 
Nice session report!
I think small worlds has become my goto game for newgamers..its got enough to it that I can enjoy playing it and its lighthearted theme seems to go over well.
Really love the badges and race variety, each game having completely different combo's has really made it more fun.

The biggest problem with the game is downtime, which is why I don't use it to introduce new gamers.
 

bloodydrake

Cool Smoke Luke
I broke down and Picked up The Legend of Drizzt and so far it seems pretty fun.It seems the opinions overwhelming are that if there was just one DnD boardgame to get this was the one.
I played the first 2 scenarios solo and I like the flow and its got a couple mechanics I really liked that I think would help fix some of the problems with Dungeon Run.

So after talking to my buddies about what didn't work with Dungeon Run when we played one of the main problems was that a few unlucky rolls led a couple players to getting no treasure upgrades at all.

The game assigns 4 standard tiles and 2 Special tiles per player if you don't roll well all your encounters won't have treasures.

1.So one change I want to use is every monster always has a treasure card.
If you roll a treasure but no monster..fine..if you roll an encounter but no treasure and it ends up being a trap its a wash, but if the encounter is a monster it always has treasure.

The other issue was it was boring when you had to do two moves and then wait for 3 other players to do something(which happens to much when you spread out but then need to come together for an uber mob or boss).

2.so we were thinking that if you only did two two move actions and finish on a standard tile..you get to reroll for an encounter(ignoring treasure only rolls) basically a wandering monster check.

I've tried these changes doing a solo 2 character run and it seems better but wont' be able to try it with a full group for a while.
Anyone else see problems with this or have some other ideas how to tweak Dungeon Run to give it that bit of a pickup it seems to need?
 
OK: Organizing my first game night. Challenge is that none of the people are gamers at all. i decided on a night of Cards Against Humanity, Bang! and The Resistance. I figured they would go well with the drinking and keep things fun.

Any suggestions for good social games for people who like to be assholes to each other?
 

bloodydrake

Cool Smoke Luke
Any suggestions for good social games for people who like to be assholes to each other?
We call that the "fuck you factor" Its a primary scoring criteria for our group. a good fuck you factor, makes for a great game.

even tho they are non gamers are they still cool with geeky stuff like Battlestar Galactica? A coop game with hidden traitor that gets to mess with his/her buddies might go over well.. but if they are weird ed out by scifi ect..then no.
 

TwiztidElf

Member
Played 2 2-player games of Lords of Waterdeep last night.

What a mish-mash of other games. Strong influence from both Alien Frontiers and Citadels, mixed in with a little bit of Puerto Rico and Ticket to Ride. (Of the games I'm familiar with anyhow).

I'm a little disappointed, but this is mostly rooted in the realization that this game isn't really compatible with the people I play board games with mostly so I won't be buying my own copy. A shame, because the quality of the stock is phenomenal.

Really enjoyed it, and went away thinking about the game a lot afterwards. Very interesting game.
 

bloodydrake

Cool Smoke Luke
Um, it's prone to AP and it's amplified by the fact that the board changes completely by the time it is your turn again, so you can't even think about your move while you wait your turn.

I've never seen AP in Small world yet..its mostly who's the last person that attacked me?..I attack them(kids are great for this)..or for the people that understand the game..who's leading in points? I attack them.

Reminding people this game is a race that anyone thats scoring 13 points on a turn but hasn't attacked you personally..should still be your primary target..of coarse I bring this up when Its not me scoring 13points on my turn ;-)
 
OK: Organizing my first game night. Challenge is that none of the people are gamers at all. i decided on a night of Cards Against Humanity, Bang! and The Resistance. I figured they would go well with the drinking and keep things fun.

Any suggestions for good social games for people who like to be assholes to each other?

Well, once you get them comfy with games, try cosmic encounter for sure.
 

fenners

Member
Home after "Give To Game", an annual charity 'game day' here in Austin, run by Dan Manfradeni, designer of some low-key games.

I really like this game day - it's for a good cause, is /very/ low-key & homegrown. It's in a church hall with the church staff managing the snack bar & it's just very cute & "nice" with about 80-100 people.

Played some good games with a nice mix of friends & new faces. Lots of Lords of Waterdeep & Eclipse. I got a game in of each, plus Powergrid First Sparks & Castle of Burgundy. All in all, a great solid day of gaming.
 

Screaming_Gremlin

My QB is a Dick and my coach is a Nutt
For the first time, I was able to get the people together to do an 8 player game of Twilight Imperium 3rd edition. After about 12 hours of playtime, from setup through rule explanations and actually playing the game, I came out as victor. I wasn't even close to winning on points, but was able to claim the Domination objective by betraying my ally and taking his home world.

This is certainly something I have no desire to do often (as in not for another year at least), but was a really fun experience. Surprisingly, no one really complained about the game lasting as long as it did and they all enjoyed themselves.
 
Couple more questions. Is anyone here supporting the Zpocolypse kickstarter?

I am conflicted about the game, as it seems interesting. I worry that it won't be fun as everyone always dies in the end. Doesn't seem like a satisfying end to such a complex game. Any thoughts?

Also, looking at getting Betrayal at House on the Hill. Does anyone know if they have corrected the warping pieces problem they had over the last few years?
 

sneaky77

Member
Couple more questions. Is anyone here supporting the Zpocolypse kickstarter?

I am conflicted about the game, as it seems interesting. I worry that it won't be fun as everyone always dies in the end. Doesn't seem like a satisfying end to such a complex game. Any thoughts?

Also, looking at getting Betrayal at House on the Hill. Does anyone know if they have corrected the warping pieces problem they had over the last few years?

I backed it, it looked like fun to me, plus I have quite a good amount of friends that enjoy the zombie theme
 

Barmaley

Neo Member
Anyone who's played War of the Ring 2nd edition with 4 people? And if so, how does it compare to 1vs1? I haven't played either but I'm thinking of picking it up mainly for 4 player games.
 

fenners

Member
Anyone who's played War of the Ring 2nd edition with 4 people? And if so, how does it compare to 1vs1? I haven't played either but I'm thinking of picking it up mainly for 4 player games.

It's a 2 player game with a fudge for 4 players, where you split the three races on each side between two players with some extra rules for control, officially. We play 4 player as more of a 'team' game with two people collaborating fully as a great way to learn the game. I wouldn't want to do it regularly as 4 player as it really is a 2 player game (and a fantastic one!).
 

fenners

Member
They claimed their sleeves were identical and made in the same factory as FFG sleeves. FFG called him a liar, they are made in different countries.

He didn't say that. You should re-read it.

From the thread:

Chemically speaking, ours are 100% polypropylene and identical to the material used by FFG, Ultra Pro and other sleeve manufacturers. In fact, our sleeves are made at the same FACTORY as other brands, on the same machines and the same materials.

FFG's owner called him out on it. FFG makes their sleeves in a different country, not on the same machines in the same factory. Seth backpedals immediately, as he always does to say:

Christian, sorry for the misunderstanding, I was just saying since almost all sleeves on the market are 100% Polypropylene that they are chemically identical.

Yes our sleeves are made in an entirely different country than FFG and I'm sure DragonShield and several others, but there are several reputable sleeve manufacturers that ARE using the same factory as we are. I've visited the factories several times and oversee our production process quite carefully.
 

Emerson

May contain jokes =>
Couple more questions. Is anyone here supporting the Zpocolypse kickstarter?

I am conflicted about the game, as it seems interesting. I worry that it won't be fun as everyone always dies in the end. Doesn't seem like a satisfying end to such a complex game. Any thoughts?

Also, looking at getting Betrayal at House on the Hill. Does anyone know if they have corrected the warping pieces problem they had over the last few years?

I've been watching this for like a month and finally backed it late last night. I had your same concerns and it's possible, but I think the game looks really nice and figured I'd take a little gamble on it. The stretch goals have added a fair amount of value as well, especially if they hit this 135k one.

From the thread:

FFG's owner called him out on it. FFG makes their sleeves in a different country, not on the same machines in the same factory. Seth backpedals immediately, as he always does to say:

Seems a bit disingenuous maybe, but technically he never did say they were made in the same factory as FFG's. He said they were chemically identical to FFG and that his were made in the same factory as "other brands."
 

Artadius

Member
From the thread:



FFG's owner called him out on it. FFG makes their sleeves in a different country, not on the same machines in the same factory. Seth backpedals immediately, as he always does to say:

He didn't say they were made at the same factory as FFG. His explanation makes perfect sense.
 

StoOgE

First tragedy, then farce.
Home after "Give To Game", an annual charity 'game day' here in Austin, run by Dan Manfradeni, designer of some low-key games.

I really like this game day - it's for a good cause, is /very/ low-key & homegrown. It's in a church hall with the church staff managing the snack bar & it's just very cute & "nice" with about 80-100 people.

Played some good games with a nice mix of friends & new faces. Lots of Lords of Waterdeep & Eclipse. I got a game in of each, plus Powergrid First Sparks & Castle of Burgundy. All in all, a great solid day of gaming.

Ugg.. wish I could have made it.

Sadly, I committed to shooting turkeys weeks ago before I realized what day it was.

I didn't even see any of the damned birds.
 

StoOgE

First tragedy, then farce.
He didn't say that. You should re-read it.

I'm not going to ever give that guy the benefit of the doubt.

He has:

1) Told people to ship defective crokinole boards to other paying customers instead of returning them.

2) Tried to set up a kickstarter for a game that he didn't have distribution rights to (Kingdom builder). When told to cease and desist by Queen games he pretends that he and Queen Games made a joint decision to pull the kickstarter.

3) His kickstarters have had a number of "exclusives" that were only to be offered on kickstarter, and pretty much all of them have been sold outside of it.

4) Many kickstarter projects claim you'll never get it this cheap again. Only to be sold at a lower MSRP or on their own website cheaper after funding.

http://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/139427/mayday-games-a-cautionary-tale
 

MrMan2k3

Member
outunderthestars said:
Also, looking at getting Betrayal at House on the Hill. Does anyone know if they have corrected the warping pieces problem they had over the last few years?

I picked it up cheap on Amazon around Black Friday 2010. I contacted customer support for the replacement tiles and I think they came around February or March. Not sure if they've done another printing of the game since then, but if not they should still provide you with the corrected tiles if you contact them.
 

StoOgE

First tragedy, then farce.
Man, I really want to buy 1830 but know that it will never see the table. Also, I want to own steam and empire builder.

I've gone on some sort of train game want to buy spree in my mind.

I want an 18xx, crayon and pick up deliver game.

Also, I want to hire a designer to create a game called 184X. It woul be a 4x game (eclipse, twilight imperium) where you bought and sold shares of the empires and go income based on their pillaging.

I have no idea if it would be good or not, I just like the name 184X
 

StoOgE

First tragedy, then farce.
I laughed

http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2012/04/16/

Despite being a nerdfest, I don't remember PA covering boardgames a few years back

Ive not really intentionally blocked people in ttr in a very long time. I'm usually playing with new players and don't want to scare them away from playing bigger games with me.

This does no however stop my dad from completing no routes of his own and just trying to guess at where I am going the entire game. As long as I dont win he considers it a victory.

My dad is kind or a dick sometimes.
 

StoOgE

First tragedy, then farce.
I just preordered the second printing of this. So excited to play it.

How euroish is the game?

My game group likes it, though there is some dissent that the random set up can hose some players where they can't do much at first.

I'm interested in the game, but a bill is a lot for one title.
 
How euroish is the game?

My game group likes it, though there is some dissent that the random set up can hose some players where they can't do much at first.

I'm interested in the game, but a bill is a lot for one title.

It's more of a wargame like set up like many older games of the same genre....if you have ever played any 4X space game, then it's similar. Just has lot of fun ideas and customization allowed, plus it's more simple and streamlined compared to most 4X games. I don't think it's very euro at all outside of perhaps the look of the components.
 

StoOgE

First tragedy, then farce.
It's more of a wargame like set up like many older games of the same genre....if you have ever played any 4X space game, then it's similar. Just has lot of fun ideas and customization allowed, plus it's more simple and streamlined compared to most 4X games. I don't think it's very euro at all outside of perhaps the look of the components.

Ok. Some of my playgroup have been calling it a Euro 4x game.. which seems rather contrary to the 4x genre.

Though, they consider Merchants and Marauders a Euro game.

I think my playgroup uses "Euro" to mean "game I like".

What are your thoughts on the starting set up issues? One player described them as game-breaking, but his favorite games are perfect information games. So, he may not be the guy to trust on such things.
 

fenners

Member
Ok. Some of my playgroup have been calling it a Euro 4x game.. which seems rather contrary to the 4x genre.

Though, they consider Merchants and Marauders a Euro game.

I think my playgroup uses "Euro" to mean "game I like".

What are your thoughts on the starting set up issues? One player described them as game-breaking, but his favorite games are perfect information games. So, he may not be the guy to trust on such things.

Starting setup is fixed in Eclipse. The randomness is in exploration - you pick a hex tile at random from a stack & place it. The luck factor is "do I get a tile that's worthwhile to expand to?".


I love Eclipse. Played it a bunch & would happily play it a bunch more. But it's not a 'perfect info' type game by any means/stretch & can see it pissing off people who want that. You're building up space ships, building up a space empire & having a big fuck-off battle at the end (usually) over a fixed number of rounds.

I love it.
 
Ok. Some of my playgroup have been calling it a Euro 4x game.. which seems rather contrary to the 4x genre.

Though, they consider Merchants and Marauders a Euro game.

I think my playgroup uses "Euro" to mean "game I like".

What are your thoughts on the starting set up issues? One player described them as game-breaking, but his favorite games are perfect information games. So, he may not be the guy to trust on such things.

Fenners basically covered that. Yea the randomness of board set up could potentially put someone at a disadvantage, but it's a common theme with this genre of game.
 

fenners

Member
Is it an insurmountable disadvantage or could good play mitigate the issues?

Good play can mitigate it to a degree, but I have seen games where one player catches /zero/ breaks & is largely screwed from winning.

In the game I played on Saturday at G2G, one of the noobs had a horrible initial couple of draws. He ended up second. I had a great start, ended clear last because of lousy play mid-game.
 

Zalasta

Member
I want an 18xx, crayon and pick up deliver game.

If you want an accessible and easy to teach pick up and deliver game, may I suggest Valdora or On the Underground? The former has a very unique mechanic, while the latter has route building that should be familiar to the TTR crowd.
 

StoOgE

First tragedy, then farce.
If you want an accessible and easy to teach pick up and deliver game, may I suggest Valdora or On the Underground? The former has a very unique mechanic, while the latter has route building that should be familiar to the TTR crowd.

Thanks for the pointers.

The pick up and deliver games I'm familiar with are Steel Driver and Steam, and I think both of them are a bit complicated for most of my non-gamer friends. Steal Driver has an easy route building mechanic, but the stock ownership and delivery at the games end are a bit complicated.

Steam is a *great* game, but just too much for most of my non-gamer friends. I still want to own a copy of it, but doubt it would get a ton of play.

Obviously 1830 is going to be a grind fest for my gaming group, but I'd like a few train games for my family to play.
 
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