not very good imo. and i own it and the expansion (ha!). actually nightfall is SORT OF like it, but better. the dice angle is really cool but that's about where the quality ends
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The New Board Game Thread (Newcomer Friendly)
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not very good imo. and i own it and the expansion (ha!). actually nightfall is SORT OF like it, but better. the dice angle is really cool but that's about where the quality ends
Affeinvasion
Member
I've always had fun playing it, but there are some balance issues. I wonder if the new Quarmadedon expansion solves some of those issues. If I make it to GenCon this year I will definitely be playing in Qworlds.
It's not a super strategic game and set up takes a long time, but if you are planning on playing more than one game of it, it goes pretty quickly and rolling the dice is always fun (and infuriating).
Avoid it. The game takes a long time to set up and dismantle. I thought it would be a dice-based Dominion, but the cards rarely align in strategically interesting ways. The dice are poorly designed graphically with some of most important bits of information are extremely small or poorly positioned (e.g. in the center of a giant spiral). Worst of all, my copy had poorly "printed" dice with some of the symbols not being filled in correctly.
Save your money and wait 6-18 months for someone to design a better version of the concept.
Giant turd. I say this as a lover of dice. Run.
I agree. BGG really failed me on that one.
Yeah, its pretty awesome. Pure negotiation. One of those games where the players really make the game and the mechanics trail behind.
With that said, I don't know how it's going to go over with a bunch of strangers, but it's a solid, albeit random game.
Captain_Spanky
Member
It's a whole shit load of fun. One of my favorite games, a lot more to it that people give it credit for. Endlessly entertaining, simple to teach and it looks pretty!
joeyjoejoeshabadoo
Member
Great game. It has simple mechanics so it's really easy to play. The simple mechanics let the social aspect of the game shine through and that's the best part. Well, that and the rad alien powers.
Affeinvasion
Member
I'm not entirely surprised by the level of quarriors hate especially among serious gamers, but all my non gamer friends love it and it's a big hit with youngish kids if that matters to you. The new expansion box seems to cut down significantly on set up time as it is arranged more like dominion.Sweeet, thankslooked interesting enough
It's too bad that it's so hard to get demos of games, because you may end up loving it.
Lotr is fun but it gets old fast and a lot of the scenarios in the box are really easy. It's also a huge money sink with the monthly card expansions if you get into it.
I have nothing negative to say about roll t through the ages but it's also not a game I would want to play all the time.
SillyEskimo
Member
I played "Sorry!" with my wife and 2 girls last night. My girls are 3 and 5. They counted out their moves aloud and took great pleasure in taking out pawns whenever possible. Whenever a "Sorry!" card was drawn, it was sheer pandemonium. We played twice, with my 3 yr old winning both times in landslide victories.
They'll grow up and eventually join us in ever more advanced games but for now we're really enjoying introducing them to the classic board games.
They'll grow up and eventually join us in ever more advanced games but for now we're really enjoying introducing them to the classic board games.
Another thing that throws me about Quarriors is that it's actually pretty complicated to teach for how strategically light it seems (harder than Dominion imo). I WISH it was a super-easy-to-teach dicefest like King of Tokyo but you really have to know the game cold yourself (including having read that FAQ on BGG) and then explain each of the cards out there, some of which aren't really intuitive. But you know far be it for more to hate; I've only played it a handful of times and maybe it just wasn't my thing.
Affeinvasion
Member
There are definitely several groups of cards which are great for teaching games, but Dominion has the advantage in that within the rules there are pre-built combinations that work well together. I've also done intro games with people where you just use the cards for glory and cost and ignore the text until people are comfortable with the mechanics of the game. King of Tokyo is definitely a better game for beginners.
Another tip I've found with Quarriors is to set it up on a lazy susan. That way people can easily see the cards no matter where they are sitting at the table (works great for Dominion and common pool games as well and you can use it for dips at non gaming parties ((like you would ever have one of those))).
Good thing to remember is that the alien powers are all about BREAKING the game. The players have to agree to react to that person.
Yeah, I guess I could have been more specific, but Flynn is right. If you let the overpowered alien gang up on you, you're gonna have a bad time.
Also try not to think of them as overpowered or broken. That is an intentional imbalance. It is easy to fall into that grouchy mindset so I always couch this in advance.
I need to give this lecture to people who don't get Innovation.
Just put in an order for 180.- of boardgames only, going to pick up everything tmrw. This will be glorious.
I just bought the standard original Dominion now, not Intrigue, that should be good enough right? Which one's the best expansion?
I just bought the standard original Dominion now, not Intrigue, that should be good enough right? Which one's the best expansion?
Seaside!
Also good:
Intrigue (a bit vanilla but definitely rounds out the base game)
Prosperity
This needs to go in the OP if it isn't there already haha.
bloodydrake
Cool Smoke Luke
Sorry was probably the first boardgame I liked as a kid.
Sounds like a good time had by all.
I stopped playing boardgames because all anyone wanted to play was scrabble,monopoly or Crib.
Who knew there would be such a resurgence in boardgames in the 2000's it still makes me chuckle.
Board gaming really is the best multiplayer gaming
bloodydrake
Cool Smoke Luke
I was wondering about that when i bought Prosperity.
Seemed Seaside and Prosp were split pretty evenly as to peoples favorite addon.
What do you like better about Seaside?
Edit: Oh, ABOUT.
Duration mechanic adds a nice layer of strategy. Cards are varied and thematic (as possible). Metal shinies.
PushingButtons
Member
So are there any games out there that are playable solo?
BattleMonkey
Member
Sweeet, thanks
LOTR is really popular with my group. If you have folks who have experience with CCG's, it also will interest them once they learn and want to spend time building decks, which is uniue in LOTR as it's more about building decks as a team. Unlike CCG's the cost to play is minimal in comparison and they have gotten really neat with their scenario design with all the new mechanics they toss in. Game has lot of scenarios since each pack comes with one new one and the difficulty varies often based on your deck builds.
If your group is not used to CCG like games though they might have some trouble with it. Find those with past CCG experience jump into it real quick.
Plenty. I believe games are searchable by number of players on BGG. Off the top of my head there's Arkham Horror, Mage Knight, Onirim, Runebound, Agricola, Le Havre, Ora et Labora! Defenders of the Realm, Gears of War, Death Angel, And Elder Sign.
bloodydrake
Cool Smoke Luke
quite a few do
heres list of solitaire games on the geek broken down by num rating.
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgamefamily/5666/solitaire-games
tho many(all?) are much better with others
Most coops can be played solo with you controlling multiple players.
Race for the Galaxy and the Addon The Gathering storm
has a solo two player mode where the 2nd player is automated
heres geeklist with break down as well as comments
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/11710/always-alone-the-definitive-list-of-single-pla/page/1?
PushingButtons
Member
BattleMonkey
Member
We had two sets at the recent guild camping trip, it was a massive hit. Dirty minds, lots of booze.... good times.
joeyjoejoeshabadoo
Member
So is the expansion, finally picked that one up.
Screaming_Gremlin
My QB is a Dick and my coach is a Nutt
As did I. I was able to get the base game last month, but missed the expansion (as I was able to add it to my cart, but it was sold out time I got through checkout).
Captain_Spanky
Member
Dungeon Quest is a lot of fun if you were in to choose your own adventure books. It's a lot of sadistic fun solo and turns in to an amusing press your luck/goad your friends in to doing dumb things game in multiplayer.
As someone mentioned most co-op games are good solo, although some aren't (Forbidden Island isn't playable for example).
My all time favorite solo game is Space Hulk: Death Angel. Don't let the dudebro title mislead you, this is basically Starcraft/Aliens in card form. You play a squad of space marines as they go through a series of areas, getting attacked on both sides by alien swarms. It's a constant battle for survival, as the tide can shift reasonably quick; for the aliens grow stronger as they group together and you need to whittle them down while moving into the next area. Each pair of marines play one of three basic actions each turn, and each pair of marines has unique abilities for each card. Here are two videos if you're curious:
Dice Tower Review and
Full Solo Game with more explanation of rules
I've played it solo at least 15 times over the past year; it's challenging, reasonably priced, relatively easy to learn, strategically interesting, and there are expansions available. The box is also small so it doesn't take up much space. I can easily see myself still playing it occasionally a decade from now.
Alternatively, if you've played and enjoyed Dungeons and Dragons, I found Wrath of Ashardalon to be a good solo experience. You go around the board flipping over new parts of the dungeon killing a variety of monsters, getting treasure and equipment, and trying to complete the quest's objective. There were a few rules that are "janky" in my opinion, particularly the traps, but it's reasonably faithful to the source material and pretty fun!
Thanks for the heads up on CAH, got it and the expansion. Hope it lives up to the hype! I'm sure I'll order Tammany Hall now that the map redesign stretch goal is within reach.
I agree. I love it for a lunch time game session. It's really simple to play, but also has a little bit deeper strategy involved. I even like the die (that's the singular for dice right?) for the turn-start bonuses. Very fun game.
The colourful pieces and stacking bamboo really draws people in too.
Only complaint I had was the irrigation stick things. You use one move just to get 1 of them. No one ever did it. So we use a "house rule" that you get 2 sticks instead.
We also changed it so the tiles you don't choose go to the bottom of the stack. We noticed no one ever took the blue cards if they go on top. Cycling through the stack faster made the blue cards more viable for us.
Yeah, it has a couple of oddities with some of the rules. I think I'd prefer the unchosen tiles go to the bottom of the deck as well.
I also think the "advanced" variant of putting back cards whose conditions have already been met is a must. Otherwise the Panda cards are at a huge scoring disadvantage since the other two can already have completed winning conditions.
Our group had a few players that used the irrigation channels a lot. It's sort of interesting because you have to irrigate land to have it grow. I almost never irrigated land myself, I just let them do that work while I scored points. It's interesting because actions are at a super premium. Which is why I also don't like the "3 actions" roll of the die. I like the weather die, but we had one player who kept rolling +1 action and won because of it.
Still, the theme and quick play make it such that I don't mind a bit of randomness.
All in all, a very fun fast game with a good amount of strategy without getting brain burny at all.
I played it twice at game night last night, then drove straight to our late night game store (they run Warhammer stuff till midnight) and bought a copy. My fiancee went on and on about how insanely cute everything was.
This could be a huge hit for Asmode.
I also think the "advanced" variant of putting back cards whose conditions have already been met is a must. Otherwise the Panda cards are at a huge scoring disadvantage since the other two can already have completed winning conditions.
Our group had a few players that used the irrigation channels a lot. It's sort of interesting because you have to irrigate land to have it grow. I almost never irrigated land myself, I just let them do that work while I scored points. It's interesting because actions are at a super premium. Which is why I also don't like the "3 actions" roll of the die. I like the weather die, but we had one player who kept rolling +1 action and won because of it.
Still, the theme and quick play make it such that I don't mind a bit of randomness.
All in all, a very fun fast game with a good amount of strategy without getting brain burny at all.
I played it twice at game night last night, then drove straight to our late night game store (they run Warhammer stuff till midnight) and bought a copy. My fiancee went on and on about how insanely cute everything was.
This could be a huge hit for Asmode.
I should try the advanced variant you speak of.
When the game is getting close to ending, people in my group tend to start drawing a bunch of blue and red cards and hoping it's already finished. We had a few wins that way.
It's interesting to hear about differences in groups. I guess that's why it's called "house rules". Our group is purple-card heavy in the first half of the game. Everyone is eating everything. The lightning roll is the most wanted one for us because you get to eat twice and take an additional action.
I think this is the same designer as 7 Wonders? I didn't like 7 Wonders, but still... I think I have to pay more attention to this person for these casual games.
I wonder if it was a staggered release or whatever. I've had my copy for many months now and like no one heard of it. The same thing happened with King of Tokyo. I had a copy for months before reviews started popping up and I heard other people finally talking about it.
When the game is getting close to ending, people in my group tend to start drawing a bunch of blue and red cards and hoping it's already finished. We had a few wins that way.
It's interesting to hear about differences in groups. I guess that's why it's called "house rules". Our group is purple-card heavy in the first half of the game. Everyone is eating everything. The lightning roll is the most wanted one for us because you get to eat twice and take an additional action.
I think this is the same designer as 7 Wonders? I didn't like 7 Wonders, but still... I think I have to pay more attention to this person for these casual games.
I wonder if it was a staggered release or whatever. I've had my copy for many months now and like no one heard of it. The same thing happened with King of Tokyo. I had a copy for months before reviews started popping up and I heard other people finally talking about it.
joeyjoejoeshabadoo
Member
Coolstuffinc is starting to ship Eclipse.
"Group think" is what you're meaning, I think.
Ooh suddenly interested in Takenoko. Even though I'm sorta burnt on 7 Wonders Bauza is unquestionably a badass. I'll probably throw it in the order for whenever Netrunner comes out since there's nothing currently out there that I can justify getting a $100 order with, so just need more stuff to come out.
bloodydrake
Cool Smoke Luke
Finished up the Last of the Baddies for Castle Ravenloft just got 4 more heroes to finish and this set it complete!
I decided to go with the more traditional Gypsy look for the Howling hag and tried to give Strahd some classic colors.
Even tho the model is not what I would consider a Classic Iconic sculpt of Strahd. Pretty happy with how it turned out.
And The She-Wolf Werewolf is ok should have done more white on the underbelly and inside of limbs to feet and hands but over all I'm ok with it.
The Dragon Zombie....didn't turn out well. Its one I wish I could scrub clean and start over on.. trying to make it a hint of green/grey and then some black wash to make it look dirty..everything got muddled I think.
Ah well its a zombie dragon what you gonna do
I decided to go with the more traditional Gypsy look for the Howling hag and tried to give Strahd some classic colors.
Even tho the model is not what I would consider a Classic Iconic sculpt of Strahd. Pretty happy with how it turned out.
And The She-Wolf Werewolf is ok should have done more white on the underbelly and inside of limbs to feet and hands but over all I'm ok with it.
The Dragon Zombie....didn't turn out well. Its one I wish I could scrub clean and start over on.. trying to make it a hint of green/grey and then some black wash to make it look dirty..everything got muddled I think.
Ah well its a zombie dragon what you gonna do
So went to my first game night with the local group i discovered. Cosmic encounter didn't make an appearance, so we introduced other games to the mix. I introduced Ascension to the group and Ticket To Ride finished the night. 3 people split off to play Civilization and hopefully i get to tackle that game next week. Fun night, if not a little awkward due to all the talk about tabletop rpgs and me not knowing anything about that.
How did you find your local group? The campus group here meets when I'm working in the lab so I can't go
piratepwnsninja
Member
My haul for the week:
Can I just say that Lords of Waterdeep shouldn't exist? And if it did exist, it could not be as good as it is? Seriously...A D&D themed euro-game from WotC and its fantastic?! I'm fairly certain I've changed universes.
Also, I now demand that all games come with holding trays as nice as Waterdeep.
- Fortress America
- Lords of Waterdeep
- Cards Against Humanity
- Original Netrunner 2-player starter (I'm impatient)
Can I just say that Lords of Waterdeep shouldn't exist? And if it did exist, it could not be as good as it is? Seriously...A D&D themed euro-game from WotC and its fantastic?! I'm fairly certain I've changed universes.
Also, I now demand that all games come with holding trays as nice as Waterdeep.
How did you find your local group? The campus group here meets when I'm working in the lab so I can't go
Just kept refining my search terms. Started with Coachella Valley board game group and just keep googling cities in the valley til i found a group with a page on meetup.
I might be moving to Indio in the next six months or so.
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