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The New Board Game Thread (Newcomer Friendly)

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XiaNaphryz

LATIN, MATRIPEDICABUS, DO YOU SPEAK IT
If Hasbro puts out board games like Queen's Gambit (which was released under their Avalon Hill moniker when they bothered to use it) I'd be fine with that.
 

Ubersnug

Member
Just picked up Fantasy Flights 'Infiltration' based on Rab Florances review on rock paper shotgun. Gonna give it a try with the mrs tomorrow night. Anyone got any impressions?
 

Neverfade

Member
Just picked up Fantasy Flights 'Infiltration' based on Rab Florances review on rock paper shotgun. Gonna give it a try with the mrs tomorrow night. Anyone got any impressions?

We like it. Its a nice light push-your-luck game with a twist. Most PYL games are insultingly simple. This weaves a bit of strategy into the mix without getting complicated, which means I can teach it to new jacks and not be bored out of my mind.
 
Just picked up Fantasy Flights 'Infiltration' based on Rab Florances review on rock paper shotgun. Gonna give it a try with the mrs tomorrow night. Anyone got any impressions?

It's a fun game, though the whole wounded state in the rules we find to be a real bummer. Getting healed in the game can be real hard, and if you get wounded, you are often shit out of luck in this. Have had some good games but many players who get wounded seem to get upset at how they get stuck in a state of suck while they watch everyone else run around the board scoring points.
 

Petrie

Banned
Summoner Wars or Mage Wars for my g/f and I? I keep hearing people talk about these games on podcasts I listen to and such, and feel like I'm missing out. Thunderstone just didn't quite scratch the itch we wanted.
 

Smiley90

Stop shitting on my team. Start shitting on my finger.
Summoner Wars or Mage Wars for my g/f and I? I keep hearing people talk about these games on podcasts I listen to and such, and feel like I'm missing out. Thunderstone just didn't quite scratch the itch we wanted.

Summoner Wars is awesome and has a lot of replayability, esp if you get the Master Set.
 

Smiley90

Stop shitting on my team. Start shitting on my finger.
The Master set is what I'm looking at, being only $32.99 on CSI.

Get it. 6 factions, each very different with some easier, some harder to understand. There's a few of us playing the iOS version over at the iOS boardgame thread and people like Astro have more than 200 games under their belt (I'm personally at over 100) and it's not getting old. I also own the Master Set and it has some really sweet factions in it. And if you ever get bored of the 6 included ones (which will take you QUITE a while), then there's always TONS of additional factions to buy for cheap.

Totally worth it.
 

Petrie

Banned
Get it. 6 factions, each very different with some easier, some harder to understand. There's a few of us playing the iOS version over at the iOS boardgame thread and people like Astro have more than 200 games under their belt (I'm personally at over 100) and it's not getting old. I also own the Master Set and it has some really sweet factions in it. And if you ever get bored of the 6 included ones (which will take you QUITE a while), then there's always TONS of additional factions to buy for cheap.

Totally worth it.

And done. Put my order over $100. This addiction is disgusting, but selling Descent 1st paid for the whole order, so no big deal.
 

Sqorgar

Banned
So where is the line drawn between a board game and miniatures game for games like Star Wars: X-Wing, Gears of War, Heroscape, etc.?
The division should be whether it has minis or not. It should be how much of a hobby it is. For something like War Machine, you can spend thousands of dollars purchasing units and additional rule books, then thousands of house assembling and painting them as well as building terrain. With Gears of War, you buy the box and it is largely self contained - you don't need to paint the figures, you only play the built in scenarios, etc. For some games, the hobby is in the collectible aspects of it, like HeroClix or Monsterpocalypse.

Then you get to the hybrid games like Dust Tactics, Battles of Westeros, or X-Wing - there's a lot of expandability, but the expansions aren't random or rare. You don't need to assemble anything (okay, in Battles of Westeros, you need to glue all the figures to their ill fitting bases, and man were people pissed) and there's very little customization of the experience outside what you buy in the expansions (don't create terrain, assemble figures with different guns, or anything).

I think miniatures fans are attracted to the hobby, board game fans want something quick to set up and play. The hybrid games give the player the choice in how far to take it in either direction.
 

Neverfade

Member
The division should be whether it has minis or not.

Plenty of boardgames I own have minis.

It should be how much of a hobby it is.

Rather insulting. Why is boardgaming any more or less of a hobby than miniature gaming?

For something like War Machine, you can spend thousands of dollars purchasing units and additional rule books, then thousands of house assembling and painting them as well as building terrain.

Do you know how many thousands of dollars I've (and many, many boardgamers [check BGG, it's true] have spent on boardgaming?)

With Gears of War, you buy the box and it is largely self contained - you don't need to paint the figures, you only play the built in scenarios, etc.

You don't need to paint then anymore than you don't need to paint any miniature figure. They don't come prettied up. Also scenarioed boardgames are just as easily expandable via expansions and fan scenarios.

I think miniatures fans are attracted to the hobby,

What does this mean?

board game fans want something quick to set up and play.

The majority of boardgames I own I would not classify as "quick".
 

tm24

Member
And done. Put my order over $100. This addiction is disgusting, but selling Descent 1st paid for the whole order, so no big deal.

Don't think of it as an addiction, think of it as a much better investment than video games

Also, finally got my hands on Kings of Tokyo. cant wait to take it to board game night. Also grabbed a copy of carc and 2 expansions, which should be fun. I should be shutting it down til Christmas when my brother comes back from school, but i might pick up the reprints of the SW faction decks
 

Sqorgar

Banned
Rather insulting. Why is boardgame any more or less of a hobby than miniature gaming?
I didn't mean to offend anyone. As I prefer board games to miniature games, don't assume I'm trying to make one seem better than the other. But when I want to play War Machine, I need to buy a specific type of plastic glue, a different glue for pewter, an xacto knife, and plastic clippers. That's just to assemble the figures. Then I have to buy a spray on primer, thirty seven different tiny little paint bottles, and four different brushes for detail work, drybrushing, and whatever. That's just to paint the figures. Then I need to build the terrain.

And you know what, I LIKE doing that stuff. When I say that miniature games are a hobby, I mean that you have to invest a lot of time and effort into literally building your own game and playing pieces. I've know miniature game fanatics that never even bothered to play the games. They just liked building little guys and painting them.

Do you know how many thousands of dollars I've (and many, many boardgamers [check BGG, it's true] have spent on boardgaming?)
Again, I'm not trying to say anyone's hobby is inferior to the other. Just that the difference between Warhammer 40k and Agricola is the investment one has in customizing their own experience with the game. Miniature games are like building model railroads. You aren't ever done. You just keep building and adding to it.

You don't need to paint then anymore than you don't need to paint any miniature figure. They don't come prettied up.
You do need to assemble them though. I've had a Khador Spriggan in my closet for 7 years that I bought before my first child was born and I've just been unable to find the time to put it together (I need to find a tiny drill to pin the arms too), so I've never played a game with that figure in it.


What does this mean?
Simply what I said. I think the appeal of miniature games is the technique and effort required to assemble, paint, and customize your gaming experience. If you read stuff like White Dwarf or No Quarter, they are filled with hobby articles about better paint jobs and how to make effective terrain. The fact that these games have magazines at all kind of proves my point. They are a hobby unto themselves, not one element of a much larger hobby.

The majority of boardgames I own I would not classify as "quick".
It's all relative. Playing minis games don't require a lot of effort to set up, but when you include the hobby elements of assembling, painting, and creating the game elements first, it's a whole different ball game.

I really didn't think anyone would be offended. Miniature games have long been considered hobbyist games. I didn't know that anyone would become incensed at the idea that another hobby required more time and effort than their own.
 
Planning on picking up Memoir '44 this weekend for cheap! I am a huge history buff and an avid board gamer I realize it's really luck based but it looks like the perfect two player game for me and the brother In law.
 

Xater

Member
Planning on picking up Memoir '44 this weekend for cheap! I am a huge history buff and an avid board gamer I realize it's really luck based but it looks like the perfect two player game for me and the brother In law.

It's a really enjoyable game. The only thing I hate about it is the set-up time. Too bad the digital version has this awful pay to play model or I would be all over it.
 

Mikeside

Member
My point is, that this idea is not necessarily true.

I think the point that he's trying to make is that miniature gaming has a whole hobby surrounding it that isn't actually playing the game, it's customizing your army/gang/whatever with different units, parts, weapons, paintjobs etc, building scenery, creating scenarios, finding fan-made scenarios and getting everything totally tailor-made and how you want it.

Then, seperately, there's the main hobby (or lesser hobby, for some), which is playing the game

Whereas he's saying that with boardgames, the hobby is generally just the game. There's obviously going to be some crossover with boardgames that have customizable elements, paintable minis, extra scenarios etc, but this is generally how I see the difference.

I agree with him - I love boardgaming and I love miniature gaming, but there IS a difference in how I approach each hobby. I buy a lot of boardgames and generally play them as they are.

I also put a lot of time and effort into Necromunda - customizing my gang, coming up with lore and backstories, upgrading them how I want it. My whole group pitches in and we make scenery and tailor our own house rules, blah blah blah. It's not something I would want to have to do with Risk, BBTM or any other boardgame I play, because when I play those games, I want to play the game.
 

SCHUEY F1

Unconfirmed Member
Planning on picking up Memoir '44 this weekend for cheap! I am a huge history buff and an avid board gamer I realize it's really luck based but it looks like the perfect two player game for me and the brother In law.

Memoir 44 is great, but I do prefer Tide of Iron even though it has many flaws.
 

Petrie

Banned
Don't think of it as an addiction, think of it as a much better investment than video games

It will be if I can ever find a regular group who actually wants to play a variety of stuff, instead of just my g/f and me most of the time while my bigger games remain mostly unplayed.
 

Neverfade

Member
I think the point that he's trying to make is that miniature gaming has a whole hobby surrounding it that isn't actually playing the game, it's customizing your army/gang/whatever with different units, parts, weapons, paintjobs etc, building scenery, creating scenarios, finding fan-made scenarios and getting everything totally tailor-made and how you want it.

Then, seperately, there's the main hobby (or lesser hobby, for some), which is playing the game

Whereas he's saying that with boardgames, the hobby is generally just the game. There's obviously going to be some crossover with boardgames that have customizable elements, paintable minis, extra scenarios etc, but this is generally how I see the difference.

I agree with him - I love boardgaming and I love miniature gaming, but there IS a difference in how I approach each hobby. I buy a lot of boardgames and generally play them as they are.

I also put a lot of time and effort into Necromunda - customizing my gang, coming up with lore and backstories, upgrading them how I want it. My whole group pitches in and we make scenery and tailor our own house rules, blah blah blah. It's not something I would want to have to do with Risk, BBTM or any other boardgame I play, because when I play those games, I want to play the game.

Guess we will agree to disagree then.
 

tm24

Member
It will be if I can ever find a regular group who actually wants to play a variety of stuff, instead of just my g/f and me most of the time while my bigger games remain mostly unplayed.

I had the same issue. Have you browsed around the bgg regional forums or even meetup.com? It's where i found my group. If not, take the initiative and start it in on your own.
 

AstroLad

Hail to the KING baby
Yeah man a lot of people meet up on BGG. If you don't see any groups or groups that appeal to you just post and try to start your own. It's actually not that hard.
 

Petrie

Banned
I had the same issue. Have you browsed around the bgg regional forums or even meetup.com? It's where i found my group. If not, take the initiative and start it in on your own.

We have 2 local groups but both seem to cater to tastes very different from my own. There's the DnD crowd, and then the more casual card game crowd. I signed up over a year ago though, maybe something changed.
 

AstroLad

Hail to the KING baby
Do what I did at work: if you don't like the existing groups either because of timing, taste, or other reasons, just start your own. You will be very happy you did it, and realistically you only need a handful of regulars to have a great time.
 
I only have enough for 1 game this weekend in my board game funds.

right now its down to:

Memoir '44 or Castle Ravenloft.

GAH!

I hate making decisions on games.
 
Well M44 is a 2 player only game, while Ravenloft is for multiple players and coop. Whatever suits your needs more.

I never liked the D&D dungeon crawls though
 

AstroLad

Hail to the KING baby
People love & hate Memoir for pretty much the same reasons:
-Super simple
-Very luck-based

The unequivocal pluses are:
-Really nice aesthetics
-For such a light game, they do a good job of trying to convey the history behind each scenario.

Personally I'm a fan. :D Although with owning Summoner Wars now it comes out a good deal less often (not that they're that similar, but they're vaguely similar and I think SW hits the perfect amount of depth, while M44 trends just a bit light -- which many people see as a positive.
 
Well M44 is a 2 player only game, while Ravenloft is for multiple players and coop. Whatever suits your needs more.

I never liked the D&D dungeon crawls though

People love & hate Memoir for pretty much the same reasons:
-Super simple
-Very luck-based

The unequivocal pluses are:
-Really nice aesthetics
-For such a light game, they do a good job of trying to convey the history behind each scenario.

Personally I'm a fan. :D Although with owning Summoner Wars now it comes out a good deal less often (not that they're that similar, but they're vaguely similar and I think SW hits the perfect amount of depth, while M44 trends just a bit light -- which many people see as a positive.

Thanks to both of you! I think since I can get memoir '44 for dirt cheap I will probably grab that this weekend.
 
While Memoir 44 is the more popular game, I really recommend Battlecry. It's the original game by Borg whose system was used to create Memoir. And find that the rule set and it's slight differences work better for the Civil War setting logic wise.
 
While Memoir 44 is the more popular game, I really recommend Battlecry. It's the original game by Borg whose system was used to create Memoir. And find that the rule set and it's slight differences work better for the Civil War setting logic wise.

Thanks for the recommendation, I really enjoy the setting of WWII more then the civil war and I know a place selling Memoir '44 for $25 dollars.
 

AstroLad

Hail to the KING baby
Learned Netrunner today. Spent pretty much most of the day learning it in great detail then running a game. Fun stuff. :)
 

Neverfade

Member
Yeah, a buddy and I got a copy each and played tonight. NBN reigned victorious thanks to some Matrix Analyzing. Unfortunately the tag-heavy strategy of that identity never really came together very often, and the one time I had clicks to spend while he was tagged, I had bits for scorched earth but not the follow up hit with Private Security to end it early. Gonna have to play once more with the deck and see if I need to thin out a few cards to get those tags sticking.
 
Fuuuuu... So this guy that sells old board games from his business he closed has a ton of out of print games for cheap.

I saw a wow board game, star craft, net runner and a few others!

Man I will be going back soon and grabbing some I want.

Edit: man I want that star trek catan game!!
 

AstroLad

Hail to the KING baby
Yeah, a buddy and I got a copy each and played tonight. NBN reigned victorious thanks to some Matrix Analyzing. Unfortunately the tag-heavy strategy of that identity never really came together very often, and the one time I had clicks to spend while he was tagged, I had bits for scorched earth but not the follow up hit with Private Security to end it early. Gonna have to play once more with the deck and see if I need to thin out a few cards to get those tags sticking.

We played the recommended starter decks -- Jinteki & Shaper. I drew lots of recurring income cards early so I got to build up a really solid infrastructure and eek out a win via flatining. Will be fun to play again now that I think we both know about 95% of the rules. Rulebook is actually very good imo, but there are a few corner cases on timing though I'm pretty sure we're playing everything right.
 
Anyone play the new 7 Wonders expansion yet?
Yes, and the opinions is kinda hit and miss. The new cards do add a few wrinkles into the dynamics (especially the diplomacy token), but the additional cards and setting up is starting to bog down the game more than it adds (especially if you use leaders at the same time)
 

Xater

Member
I have to say that Netrunner is the first LCG that looks really interesting to me. Too bad I don't think anyone would play that with me.
 
Fuuuuu... So this guy that sells old board games from his business he closed has a ton of out of print games for cheap.

I saw a wow board game, star craft, net runner and a few others!

Man I will be going back soon and grabbing some I want.

Edit: man I want that star trek catan game!!

WoW board games are all awful.
 
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