Support NeoGAF

[joeyjoejoeshabadoo]

For those interested, I've posted by initial play impressions of Uncharted at my blog

http://theryanmccabe.blogspot.com/2012/06/uncharted-board-game.html

If you have any questions about the game, let me know...Overall I really enjoyed it.

Thanks, it seems really similar to London and Last Will. The theme seems pasted on and kind of sucks the characters don't have any special powers. I do have to say its an interesting way to go about an Uncharted board game. When it was first announced I was hoping for more of an adventure game like Fortune and Glory.
Edit: I should hav added that if you like Uncharted check out London and Last Will you might like those as well.

Question: How do you guys go about explaining boardgames to people not familiar with boardgames or who are struggling with more complex games? Do you follow a certain path (say, components, icons, cards, then rules, phases, gameplay, then strategies or something like that) or do you make it up as it goes? How do you explain it? I keep struggling with explaining things in ways that are easy to understand, because I know it and pick it up fast but others might not, so I'm looking for input on how to improve that :/

Start with how to win. It might seem obvious but giving the other players a goal will help you explain the mechanics better. The other thing you can try is set up the board and run through a turn or two solo. If you get comfortable with the rules of the game it'll make it easier to teach. Finally, start slowly, if you are playing with non gamers start with a game like Ticket to Ride. The rules are simple and it will make it easier on you to teach. Pretty soon you'll get a group of people who are willing to try more complex games.

 

[piratepwnsninja]

Question: How do you guys go about explaining boardgames to people not familiar with boardgames or who are struggling with more complex games? Do you follow a certain path (say, components, icons, cards, then rules, phases, gameplay, then strategies or something like that) or do you make it up as it goes? How do you explain it? I keep struggling with explaining things in ways that are easy to understand, because I know it and pick it up fast but others might not, so I'm looking for input on how to improve that :/

I'll generally play a turn or two with everything face up while explaining what is going on. I've found that just saying words of rules is much less effective than people actually playing and learning. I explain why I'm making the move I make in detail, then help them through their turn. This works with my kids well too.

 

[Affeinvasion]

I'll generally play a turn or two with everything face up while explaining what is going on. I've found that just saying words of rules is much less effective than people actually playing and learning. I explain why I'm making the move I make in detail, then help them through their turn. This works with my kids well too.

This is great advice, but I feel like I should be the dick here and point out that some people are just idiots and no matter what you do, they will not understand and will dismiss any amount of teaching because admitting that they need help learning something somehow proves to everyone that they are an idiot.

 

[AstroLad]

Almost suckered myself into buying Eclipse and adding one other tiny game to make a CSI order, but take that unequivocal hype! Too many games to learn still for me to be taking on a beast like that. I mean I still haven't even learned Through the Ages yet. Platy when are you coming to NorCal so you can teach us?

 

[platypotamus]

Almost suckered myself into buying Eclipse and adding one other tiny game to make a CSI order, but take that unequivocal hype! Too many games to learn still for me to be taking on a beast like that. I mean I still haven't even learned Through the Ages yet. Platy when are you coming to NorCal so you can teach us?

This is the part where I'd say that I'll teach you if you come up to PAX except that it sold out before I got tickets.

Though my wife and I did just have a "why haven't we gone to the bay area for a getaway yet" conversation...

 

[narcosis219]

This is great advice, but I feel like I should be the dick here and point out that some people are just idiots and no matter what you do, they will not understand and will dismiss any amount of teaching because admitting that they need help learning something somehow proves to everyone that they are an idiot.

Tru dat.

Anywho, example plays and practice rounds are the way i do it. Make sure to preface the objectives of the game and how you attain those objectives really well. Leave details and caveats for half-way into the game or when they come up. Your first game with new players should ideally never be about playing it competitively.

 

[Neverfade]

Almost suckered myself into buying Eclipse and adding one other tiny game to make a CSI order, but take that unequivocal hype! Too many games to learn still for me to be taking on a beast like that. I mean I still haven't even learned Through the Ages yet. Platy when are you coming to NorCal so you can teach us?

 

[Musan]

Through the Ages is pretty good. It would be cool if there was an expansion with some of the updates in the online version. I'm tempted to buy a copy but it seems like it is now around $70.

 

[AstroLad]

Though my wife and I did just have a "why haven't we gone to the bay area for a getaway yet" conversation...

I'm tellin you! (Just come after July )

 

[Smiley90]

Through the Ages is pretty good. It would be cool if there was an expansion with some of the updates in the online version. I'm tempted to buy a copy but it seems like it is now around $70.

Online Version, excuse me?

 

[Musan]

Online Version, excuse me?

www.boardgaming-online.com/

The expansions added some new wonders and leaders, as well as rebalance some of the older ones.

 

[Smiley90]

www.boardgaming-online.com/

The expansions added some new wonders and leaders, as well as rebalance some of the older ones.

ooooooh niiiiice. Is it async? Or only live? I wouldn't mind checking the game out, won't have to chance to play it in RL anytime soon...

 

[Musan]

ooooooh niiiiice. Is it async? Or only live? I wouldn't mind checking the game out, won't have to chance to play it in RL anytime soon...

It is asynchronous, a good place to learn the game, since keeping track of all the pieces can be complicated otherwise.

 

[Neverfade]

Speaking of online games, LeHavre got submitted to iOS store, should be up soonish.

 

[MichaelBD]

Question: How do you guys go about explaining boardgames to people not familiar with boardgames or who are struggling with more complex games? Do you follow a certain path (say, components, icons, cards, then rules, phases, gameplay, then strategies or something like that) or do you make it up as it goes? How do you explain it? I keep struggling with explaining things in ways that are easy to understand, because I know it and pick it up fast but others might not, so I'm looking for input on how to improve that :/

First, I try to tie gameplay mechanics to other games people might have played (this is kind of like _____ in that you have to ________ and _________). Then, as hokey as it may sound, I try to tell a story using the game's theme and objective to generate interest ("you don't want to just be any old Lord of Waterdeep, you want to be THE LORD OF WATERDEEP, and the only way you can do that is like anything else in life, have more at the end than your opponents.") Then I usually break down the board (if there is one) so the players can appreciate the game environment, and then I pick and choose what to do next depending on the game.

For example, with Fortress America, after going over the board, I thought it was important to go over lots of movement examples, so I set up some pieces, illustrated some moves, and then had my friend make some moves based on examples I gave him (sort of like a pop quiz). From there I went to battles and then finally the phases of play.

So really a lot depends, obviously, on the experience of the player and what you think are the most important aspects of the specific game you are teaching. I also always tell people, for the first time playing a game, that it's a learning game and we can make all the mistakes we want and take them back if necessary. You really need to have it be as positive an experience as possible (kind of a "no duh" I know, but worth saying).

 

[platypotamus]

Got the Ankh-Morpork boardgame as a gift. Really want to like it. Tell me I'll like it.

 

[joeyjoejoeshabadoo]

Got the Ankh-Morpork boardgame as a gift. Really want to like it. Tell me I'll like it.

It's ok. If you are super into the Discworld universe you'll get a kick out of the references. The game is a super light area control game with hidden win objectives. The only problem is half of the roles all have the same win condition so it becomes samey after awhile.

 

[frequency]

Got the Ankh-Morpork boardgame as a gift. Really want to like it. Tell me I'll like it.

It's okay I think. Very random. And it always just... ends. Since the victory conditions are secret, every game I've played so far just suddenly ends. It feels very anti-climactic. But maybe it's less of an issue if you play more and can recognize when a character's victory conditions are close to being met. It looks really nice though!

 

[joeyjoejoeshabadoo]

It's okay I think. Very random. And it always just... ends. Since the victory conditions are secret, every game I've played so far just suddenly ends. It feels very anti-climactic. But maybe it's less of an issue if you play more and can recognize when a character's victory conditions are close to being met. It looks really nice though!

This is a problem for me since most of the win conditions are the same, when someone tries something different it's pretty apparent as to who they are playing. Other than that you are just trying to stop players from gaining control of too many areas.

 

[platypotamus]

Thanks guys. I do loves me some Discworld, so hopefully I enjoy it well enough.

 

[BattleMonkey]

Glad I got my copy of Eclipse, seems like most retailers are already holding back stock and charging the higher prices for the 2nd printing

 

[MichaelBD]

This is a problem for me since most of the win conditions are the same, when someone tries something different it's pretty apparent as to who they are playing. Other than that you are just trying to stop players from gaining control of too many areas.

There are seven different win conditions and 3 are the same (control a certain number of territories depending on how many people playing). Really the one you have to be most wary of is the guy who wins when the draw deck runs out. I've only ever had the game come to points once in the dozen or so times I've played it.

I've played with both Discworld fans and people who've never heard of the series. I'd say about 3/4 of the people I've played with have come away liking it with the rest saying it's "okay." No one has out and out hated it. The good news is it's quick, so it's nice to start or end with it if you have a game night going on.

 

[Barmaley]

Today I went to my local board game shop with my mind set on buying escape from atlantis, but it wasn't meant to be. Not when i spotted a nice shiny box of Eclipse in a dark corner. Only 51 eurons at that, how could I resist?
So, in less than a week I bought War of the Ring, Eclipse & Divinare. I'm back on the needle, and I thought I had these turbulent times behind me
But again, these were the last games on my must-have list; I shall pause and try to enjoy what I already have.

 

[piratepwnsninja]

Just grabbed a copy of Eclipse from CSI. Couldn't resist and it was nearly sold out again.

 

[Cat Party]

Hello, board games GAF.

Out of the blue, I decided that I would take my family to a new mom and pop board game store in the Portland area. I love Carcassonne (played the Xbox 360 version to death) and I am familiar with Settlers, but beyond that, I've never really been into modern board games. My oldest kid is 7 now, so I wanted to get beyond simplistic games like Sorry and find something our whole family could play and have fun with. I also wanted to find something my wife and I could play together.

Walked out of the place with Ticket to Ride, Mr. Jack: New York, and Catan Junior. Been having lots of fun with them. It's like I've entered a new, exciting, and incredibly expensive world. About $130 for those games. But I think my family is hooked.

 

[piratepwnsninja]

Hello, board games GAF.

Out of the blue, I decided that I would take my family to a new mom and pop board game store in the Portland area. I love Carcassonne (played the Xbox 360 version to death) and I am familiar with Settlers, but beyond that, I've never really been into modern board games. My oldest kid is 7 now, so I wanted to get beyond simplistic games like Sorry and find something our whole family could play and have fun with. I also wanted to find something my wife and I could play together.

Walked out of the place with Ticket to Ride, Mr. Jack: New York, and Catan Junior. Been having lots of fun with them. It's like I've entered a new, exciting, and incredibly expensive world. About $130 for those games. But I think my family is hooked.

That's the thing...people look at me like I am nuts with the number of board games I have, but to be perfectly honest they are a much better long term investment entertainment hours to dollar wise than video games will ever be. I tend to shop online for my board games as the prices are much cheaper, but will support my FLGS for some of my purchases throughout the year.

Oh, and playing with the kids is awesome. Both of mine are old enough now to at least kind of play anything that gets put on the table. I'm continually amazed by the amount of strategy they are able to employ. I mean, I was raised on Monopoly and other crap. But they get to experience awesome.

My son does tend to get a bit over the top though, especially when playing Magic...He's watched a few too many episodes of Yu-Gi-Oh!

Me: "Ok, I tap these to play this."
Son: "HA HA! YOU HAVE FALLEN INTO MY TRAP!" *taps lands and counters my play*

 

[piratepwnsninja]

Thanks, it seems really similar to London and Last Will. The theme seems pasted on and kind of sucks the characters don't have any special powers. I do have to say its an interesting way to go about an Uncharted board game. When it was first announced I was hoping for more of an adventure game like Fortune and Glory.
Edit: I should hav added that if you like Uncharted check out London and Last Will you might like those as well.

Update, the characters DO have special powers with their "variant mode." The manual just doesn't mention it ever for the base game and it is on the reverse side of their card, which I admittedly never had any reason to flip over to look at.

 

[Cat Party]

That's the thing...people look at me like I am nuts with the number of board games I have, but to be perfectly honest they are a much better long term investment entertainment hours to dollar wise than video games will ever be. I tend to shop online for my board games as the prices are much cheaper, but will support my FLGS for some of my purchases throughout the year.

I foresee acquiring quite a collection. My wife was really amazed at all the games that are out there. She honestly had no idea. To her, the board games section at Target, and a handful of games like Carcassonne and Settlers were all there was. I suppose that's a typical view.

 

[joeyjoejoeshabadoo]

Walked out of the place with Ticket to Ride, Mr. Jack: New York, and Catan Junior. Been having lots of fun with them. It's like I've entered a new, exciting, and incredibly expensive world. About $130 for those games. But I think my family is hooked.

Good choices. You also picked up the good version of Mr. Jack. I wasn't a big fan of the original but I liked Mr. Jack in New York a lot better.

 

[AstroLad]

That's the thing...people look at me like I am nuts with the number of board games I have, but to be perfectly honest they are a much better long term investment entertainment hours to dollar wise than video games will ever be. I tend to shop online for my board games as the prices are much cheaper, but will support my FLGS for some of my purchases throughout the year.

Actually not even just from that perspective, but even from a purely financial one. Almost every game I've bought and sold on ebay has gone for 60-110% what I bought for. Board games just retain their value really well. I feel like this might change in the near future with a lot more iterative gaming (hopefully not sequelization though) but right now you can really get a great return on games you wind up not playing as much.

 

[timetokill]

My copy of Eclipse finally showed up, and we played it last night.

First impressions:

• So many pieces. Holy shit.
• The rules are laid out very well. I read through the whole thing and wasn't confused. The game is actually pretty straightforward, there are just a lot of things going on.
• Trying to explain the game to everyone took a long time. Probably should just jump in and do a round or two to explain things that way.
• I played terribly, but immediately wanted another shot at it. Sign of a good game.
• Lots of options, and you can see how the game would be extremely varied over time. There were some strategies we didn't even touch in the game, which I'm eager to try out in the coming plays.
• Again, so many little pieces. Goddamn.
• I love the board construction and ship customization aspects. Very addictive.
• Winner of the game won by 1 point. Good stuff.
• THANK YOU to the publisher for including cloth bags, plastic bags, etc.... TONS of stuff to help keep the game organized in the box. They included even more than you really need, which is just awesome.

 

[piratepwnsninja]

My copy of Eclipse finally showed up, and we played it last night.

First impressions:

• So many pieces. Holy shit.
• The rules are laid out very well. I read through the whole thing and wasn't confused. The game is actually pretty straightforward, there are just a lot of things going on.
• Trying to explain the game to everyone took a long time. Probably should just jump in and do a round or two to explain things that way.
• I played terribly, but immediately wanted another shot at it. Sign of a good game.
• Lots of options, and you can see how the game would be extremely varied over time. There were some strategies we didn't even touch in the game, which I'm eager to try out in the coming plays.
• Again, so many little pieces. Goddamn.
• I love the board construction and ship customization aspects. Very addictive.
• Winner of the game won by 1 point. Good stuff.
• THANK YOU to the publisher for including cloth bags, plastic bags, etc.... TONS of stuff to help keep the game organized in the box. They included even more than you really need, which is just awesome.

Awesome. CSI is sold out now. Glad I ordered a few hours ago.

 

[BattleMonkey]

Awesome. CSI is sold out now. Glad I ordered a few hours ago.

Boardgamegeek marketplace dudes got copies still, got a copy cheaper there than on CSI

 

[piratepwnsninja]

Boardgamegeek marketplace dudes got copies still, got a copy cheaper there than on CSI

Yeah, but I'd rather add to my total on CSI to creep closer to the next level of discount, which happens to be the final level of discount.

 

[Switters]

My copy of Eclipse finally showed up, and we played it last night.

First impressions:

• So many pieces. Holy shit.
• The rules are laid out very well. I read through the whole thing and wasn't confused. The game is actually pretty straightforward, there are just a lot of things going on.
• Trying to explain the game to everyone took a long time. Probably should just jump in and do a round or two to explain things that way.
• I played terribly, but immediately wanted another shot at it. Sign of a good game.
• Lots of options, and you can see how the game would be extremely varied over time. There were some strategies we didn't even touch in the game, which I'm eager to try out in the coming plays.
• Again, so many little pieces. Goddamn.
• I love the board construction and ship customization aspects. Very addictive.
• Winner of the game won by 1 point. Good stuff.
• THANK YOU to the publisher for including cloth bags, plastic bags, etc.... TONS of stuff to help keep the game organized in the box. They included even more than you really need, which is just awesome.

I fucking love this game. Even though I paid $200 bucks for it 4 mos ago, it's totally my favorite game right now.

I got to play over the weekend and got thoroughly stomped by another player that drew three tiles with white planets and OP tech upgrades. By turn 6 or 7 he had obliterated the GC and made everyone else turtle up their assholes.

I spent the first 4 turns surrounded by ancients and double ancients. It was by far my worst game yet, but still so much fun.

I would love to hear more about your experience with the game upon further plays.

 

[piratepwnsninja]

I fucking love this game. Even though I paid $200 bucks for it 4 mos ago, it's totally my favorite game right now.

I got to play over the weekend and got thoroughly stomped by another player that drew three tiles with white planets and OP tech upgrades. By turn 6 or 7 he had obliterated the GC and made everyone else turtle up their assholes.

I spent the first 4 turns surrounded by ancients and double ancients. It was by far my worst game yet, but still so much fun.

I would love to hear more about your experience with the game upon further plays.

Can't wait for mine to get here. How does it play with two?

 

[timetokill]

I fucking love this game. Even though I paid $200 bucks for it 4 mos ago, it's totally my favorite game right now.

I got to play over the weekend and got thoroughly stomped by another player that drew three tiles with white planets and OP tech upgrades. By turn 6 or 7 he had obliterated the GC and made everyone else turtle up their assholes.

I spent the first 4 turns surrounded by ancients and double ancients. It was by far my worst game yet, but still so much fun.

I would love to hear more about your experience with the game upon further plays.

Yeah, my first game was kind of like that... every time I would explore I would have Ancients and Double Ancients around me, meanwhile one other guy was striking it rich with Tech upgrades and things.

Thing was, he didn't end up winning, he lost by 1 point because while he had built some pretty insane ships, he didn't end up voyaging out to actually kill people until too late in the game. I find that a lot of new games end up that way, with people afraid to get into aggression while they're learning the game.

I came in dead last, but I definitely saw how I could have worked my way up. I was at 0 money pretty much the entire game and kept trying to round up money. Instead I should have just accepted that I was high on science and done some trading to get what I needed. Ah well, live and learn.

I'll definitely post more about my experiences next Wednesday, when we're pretty much assured to play another game of it.

 

[Barmaley]

I may be drifting a bit offtopic here, but has anyone played both Eclipse and that pc game Endless Space (which too seems to be a 4X game)? Are they anything alike?

 

[Dreavus]

Not necessarily a board game, but... Has anyone here played Liar's Dice (also known as Dudo or Perudo)? AKA "that dice game they play in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest"

Basically each player rolls five 6-sided die, and the result is hidden from all other players.
Then each player takes turns calling out a prediction about how many dice of one specific value there are total. For example, I could say that there were "three sixes" (three die, valued at 6, on the table). The catch is that you have to take all the dice on the table (even the other players') when making the call. The following player either calls bluff, or makes a higher bid of his own. The new bid has to be either a higher value or a larger number of dice. If bluff is called, the player who loses also loses a die, and a new round starts. You want to end up being the last one with dice.

The fun comes in when people start extending the truth, and you will have to at a certain point, since the bid has to always be raised. You might have only rolled three "fives", but make the call that there are "five fives", betting on the fact that other players have fives of their own.

There are more specific rules about rolling 5 different values and stuff, but we didn't know about those to start with.



I played it over at my brother's place with one of his friends the other day, and it was awesome. Such a simple game on the surface but there are so many ways it can play out. We were only planning on trying out a few games of it before we got into something slightly bigger (Dominion!) but we ended up playing a lot longer than we thought we would. We're really looking forward to trying it with a slightly bigger crowd.

 

[Flynn]

I used to see a lot of Liar's Dice at bars in SF. The dice were worn almost round.

 

[joeyjoejoeshabadoo]

Liars Dice is great. We usually will break that out while we wait for other players to show up.

Played Eclipse tonight, it's pretty great guys. The hype for the game is somewhat justified it's not ZOMG BEST GAME EVAR but it's well made. The cube mechanic feels a lot like Through the Ages and the game itself feels nothing like Twilight Imperium. Any way I played The Decendents of Draco and ended up losing after having a huge lead in the beginning of the game. It was all my fault, however, because I was resting on my laurels instead of trying to shake things up a bit. Either way I had a ton of fun and the wait was worth it.

 

[Switters]

Can't wait for mine to get here. How does it play with two?

Half my games are two player games, and if you both played humans, putting down 4 starbases and exploring was the usual strategy. It would usually end up in a military stalemate with victory points being earned through other means.

I haven't played any games where everyone was alien yet. That should be interesting.

 

[bloodydrake]

just checked out FungamesCafe and GermanBoardgames and Eclipse is sold out, they're saying preorder for Oct to get a copy from Third Printing.

Maybe being sold out is a good thing to control my impulse to buy the new shiney.
I almost wish everyone said it played to much like Twilight..would make it easier for me to dismiss it


I still need to get our full group together for a Twilight Imperium game with the Shattered Empire Addon.

Really want to try using the preset maps and the Age of Empire variant that Shows all Public Objectives and you qualify for them all initially. This with the Shattered including more military options should help our groups enjoyment.

The one thing that seems to slow the game down for use is the slow revealing of the objectives that forced you to always reassess your strategy. I don't think my group will be ready to play this one again till fall tho.


For my weekly game we've found a great way to play Tide of Iron.

Normally we couldn't play it on weeknights due to it being too long a game, but We've taken to playing a 2 to 3 rounds..Take photos of all the parts of the gameboard and cards then just packup all the stuff on table into the lid and then rebuild it the next week from the photos and continue on.

I created a Google Doc with all the official Maps For TIO in order of date and we're gonna progress thru the whole war with me being Allies and my buddy as Axis, and keep track of overall total victories..
This way those individual maps that are not balanced don't hurt as much in the grand scheme of the whole war.

When we played before and it was random it sucked when you realized the scenario was one where it was almost hopeless to win..now it just feels like a small part of the whole and you know that somewhere down the line there's gonna be a scenario where your troops have the advantage.

We're on the Third Scenerio now and its been working really good this way.

 

[MichaelBD]

just checked out FungamesCafe and GermanBoardgames and Eclipse is sold out, they're saying preorder for Oct to get a copy from Third Printing.

Maybe being sold out is a good thing to control my impulse to buy the new shiney.
I almost wish everyone said it played to much like Twilight..would make it easier for me to dismiss it


I still need to get our full group together for a Twilight Imperium game with the Shattered Empire Addon.

Really want to try using the preset maps and the Age of Empire variant that Shows all Public Objectives and you qualify for them all initially. This with the Shattered including more military options should help our groups enjoyment.

The one thing that seems to slow the game down for use is the slow revealing of the objectives that forced you to always reassess your strategy. I don't think my group will be ready to play this one again till fall tho.


For my weekly game we've found a great way to play Tide of Iron.

Normally we couldn't play it on weeknights due to it being too long a game, but We've taken to playing a 2 to 3 rounds..Take photos of all the parts of the gameboard and cards then just packup all the stuff on table into the lid and then rebuild it the next week from the photos and continue on.

I created a Google Doc with all the official Maps For TIO in order of date and we're gonna progress thru the whole war with me being Allies and my buddy as Axis, and keep track of overall total victories..
This way those individual maps that are not balanced don't hurt as much in the grand scheme of the whole war.

When we played before and it was random it sucked when you realized the scenario was one where it was almost hopeless to win..now it just feels like a small part of the whole and you know that somewhere down the line there's gonna be a scenario where your troops have the advantage.

We're on the Third Scenerio now and its been working really good this way.

Twilight Imperium is awesome. Last game we played (maybe six months ago) we actually scaled back to just the base game. It was too unwieldy for us to learn with all the fun stuff from the expansions thrown in (which is sad). By far I love the flagships the most, just such an incredible idea. I always want to play TI. It's in the running for my all-time favorite game with another Twilight: Twilight Struggle.

Though I have to say as of recent Mage Knight has been making a huge impression on me. I've played over a dozen times since snagging a copy and 10 of them have been solo. I've got the game set up in my basement room so I can play a turn or two at a time and then just re-set up for a new match. It's creeping into my top 5.

Last night we played a 4 player game (blitz conquest) that took just about 4 hours (1 and a half new players--the half having been through the walkthrough once before).

 

[SnakeswithLasers]

Since I just moved to Berkeley, I discovered that we have a pretty kickass game store: http://www.gamesofberkeley.com/

So... I want to do them some business this weekend. Good four player cooperative game recs? I was thinking of Battlestar Galactica (I like the co-op with a secret asshole idea), but I'm not sold on a licensed game.

My partner and I play with another couple and we enjoy Pandemic and Arkham Horror (but that takes waaaay too long to setup).

 

[joeyjoejoeshabadoo]

Since I just moved to Berkeley, I discovered that we have a pretty kickass game store: http://www.gamesofberkeley.com/

So... I want to do them some business this weekend. Good four player cooperative game recs? I was thinking of Battlestar Galactica (I like the co-op with a secret asshole idea), but I'm not sold on a licensed game.

My partner and I play with another couple and we enjoy Pandemic and Arkham Horror (but that takes waaaay too long to setup).

Don't let the TV license fool you BSG highly regarded in the boardgame community. It's a great game and one of my favorites. As for other co-ops, I really like Flash Point: Fire Rescue. Forgo the family game and just play the Advanced game.

If you like Arkham Horror check out Elder Sign. It's pretty much AH Express, it feels like Arkham Horror but takes a fraction of the time to play.

Ghost Stories is another good co-op. Be warned it's insanely hard even on the easiest difficulty. The theme is fun and well executed and it's a pretty game to look at even while it's kicking you while your down.

Space Hulk: Death Angel the Card Game, is another hard one but it's small, compact, and cheap. So it's easy to travel with, if that's your thing. Think of the game as the movie Aliens. You are a group of Space Marines looking to clear out room after room of aliens trying to survive and complete the final objective.

 

[piratepwnsninja]

Since I just moved to Berkeley, I discovered that we have a pretty kickass game store: http://www.gamesofberkeley.com/

So... I want to do them some business this weekend. Good four player cooperative game recs? I was thinking of Battlestar Galactica (I like the co-op with a secret asshole idea), but I'm not sold on a licensed game.

My partner and I play with another couple and we enjoy Pandemic and Arkham Horror (but that takes waaaay too long to setup).

Big fan of BSG. It's a really great co-op game.

As mentioned, if you like Pandemic, Flash Point is one to look for too. I'll also second the comments on Elder Sign.

 

[timetokill]

I was thinking of Battlestar Galactica (I like the co-op with a secret asshole idea), but I'm not sold on a licensed game.

Do not let the license deter you. I felt the same way going in, but it's seriously one of the very best board games out there. It's insanely good. Especially with 5 players where it's at its absolute best.

 

[platypotamus]

Since I just moved to Berkeley, I discovered that we have a pretty kickass game store: http://www.gamesofberkeley.com/

So... I want to do them some business this weekend. Good four player cooperative game recs? I was thinking of Battlestar Galactica (I like the co-op with a secret asshole idea), but I'm not sold on a licensed game.

My partner and I play with another couple and we enjoy Pandemic and Arkham Horror (but that takes waaaay too long to setup).

I went in there when I went through Berkeley like 5 years ago. Pretty nice shop!

I recommend Ghost Stories. It's my favorite co-op game lately, up to 4 players. You are Taoist monks trying to lift a curse and banish spirits from a small Chinese village. It's great!

 

[Fewr]

On a scale of 1 to 10, how much of a bridge game is Dungeon Petz?

I want to get my family to give the worker placement mechanic a go again, and I'm undecided between this, Agricola or nothing at all yet.


* puerto rico was the second game they tried (agter bang!) and they thought it is meh
** the biggest hits for my family are bang!, quarriors!, pandemic, forb island, small world and ticket to ride