I think EOY but it hasn't really surfaced yet, so that's more a hope than anything. Wish BGG.Con had it, but it wasn't at Essen.
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The New Board Game Thread (Newcomer Friendly)
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I think EOY but it hasn't really surfaced yet, so that's more a hope than anything. Wish BGG.Con had it, but it wasn't at Essen.
BattleMonkey
Member
I won Saturday playing Batiatus hehe. Secure some slaves early on and just pick up any shitty cheap gladiators no one wants or deal with players for them. Those gladiators make easy money each turn with the exhibition matches or you can just toss em when you have too many for easy influence. You have to be aggressive early on to get slaves, many players have enough and will care more about getting more gladiators early on which you can just ignore since you have so many.
timetokill
Banned
Yes, you start with three gladiators, which means you have a starting upkeep cost of -2 every round unless you manage to pick up slaves. In our games, slaves in the early rounds are things people go pretty much all-in for, and since Batiatus has basically the least money he's in the most vulnerable position there. This also means if he bets and loses in the early arena rounds (when the gladiator matches are pretty even between chumps) then he could have to release gladiators since he can't pay the upkeep. That "source of 2 gold that nobody has" is basically claimed by the fact that you're -2 in the upkeep phase anyway, so it's a wash unless you always win your bets. Besides, other people can make money by exhausting their starting slaves or guards and then cashing in the cards, etc. Of course, if Batiatus exhausts his gladiators for the money, then he is easily invited to the area for a -1 Influence penalty, etc.
Additionally, since you start at 1 in epic games, many players just refuse the arena since they can't lose influence at 1, so Batiatus doesn't get to win arena matches. Then the other players stock up on everything else for a quick late game run, since they've bought all the good stuff with their money-making machinery that Batiatus isn't really privy to.
The issue in our matches is that slaves go for maximum price, and Batiatus is at a disadvantage in the early gold proceedings. Then, everyone else is making additional money each round because they're stocked on slaves, and Batiatus is losing money because he is paying upkeep on his group of gladiators.
Then, at 1 influence, these gladiators win nothing in the arena matches because everyone just declines, meaning there's no arena at all for them to win. Batiatus is neutralized for most of the game.
Batiatus has won in our group, but generally just because it was our first game, we didn't know all the cards, and we didn't know what we were doing (slaves went cheap). Now players routinely go all-in for slaves.
BattleMonkey
Member
Don't play epic games then. Standard game starts at 4 and I think is perfect length. It forces players also to get into the game instead of floating around ignoring the arena problem that many have complained about already. At standard game start, I think it all works fine and even with the coin disadvantage, Bat does fine as you just have to play aggressive more so than any of the other Dominus in the games. But the whole money issue to me has never came up simply because it's so easy to get money in the game with being able to essentially sell all your intrigue cards to the bank, which you usually will get many of early on that you can't use till much later in game as well as selling assets to the bank.
Also from all my games, the players with the coin advantage usually gets ganged up on by everyone always and dragged back down. Full 4 players are standard start position, game play is quite good, I can see it not being balanced for the epic level start though especially without them changing the rule of declining invites at 1 influence... there should be a penalty.
Also from all my games, the players with the coin advantage usually gets ganged up on by everyone always and dragged back down. Full 4 players are standard start position, game play is quite good, I can see it not being balanced for the epic level start though especially without them changing the rule of declining invites at 1 influence... there should be a penalty.
Gaming Truth
Member
But you start with three gladiators. You exhaust two and leave your best one alone. You have just as many as Glaber and since you had three to choose from, you're technically as well-prepared as Solonius and Tullius. Again, on turn One, with your special, you're only paying for the upkeep for one of your gladiators. Falling in line with the show, you want to collect a nice stable of gladiators and kick butt. Sure, you can play him other ways, but I'm just stating the natural starting strength of Batiatus.
The "no -1" in Epic rule must be a typo or whatnot. It needs to count, even if you're at 1. Your fear of losing your third gladiator on Turn One if you exhaust your other two is what poor Glaber deals with all the time.
Edit: It's not a typo. It's not covered explicitly in the rulebook, but it was answered by someone from Gale Force Nine on BGG. You can't go below 1 influence. Yeah, it feels bad, but it's also what happened in the show (no real spoiler).
BattleMonkey
Member
Love horror movies so really interested in this one: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mythoslabs/you-are-the-maniac-the-card-game-for-horror-fans
Want to pledge as it sounds fun but damn $37 for a card game?
Want to pledge as it sounds fun but damn $37 for a card game?
joeyjoejoeshabadoo
Member
Get Guillotine. It's the exact same game and is $13 on Amazon.
BattleMonkey
Member
Wow yea looked into it more and see that they literally just copied the game cards and tossed on a new theme.
joeyjoejoeshabadoo
Member
It's pretty shameless. I saw they are planning on changing the rules around to make it a little different. But they only did that because they were getting called on their shit.
Any thoughts on Boss Monster Kickstarter?
The theme seems neat, sort of a card-based version of Dungeon Keeper? But I'm worried the gameplay will be shallow and that people are piling on the bandwagon simply because of the art style.
Edit: Oops, did not see their "Gameplay" video. Checking out now.
The theme seems neat, sort of a card-based version of Dungeon Keeper? But I'm worried the gameplay will be shallow and that people are piling on the bandwagon simply because of the art style.
Edit: Oops, did not see their "Gameplay" video. Checking out now.
timetokill
Banned
But you're not supposed to be able to use your Special Abilities except in the Intrigue Phase, which comes after Upkeep and specifically after you have to pay for your gladiators. It mentions the intrigue phase on the player house cards themselves.
The turn order card says the Upkeep Phase is: Refresh cards -> Heal Injuries -> Balance Ledgers.
The Intrigue phase follows.
Which means your gladiators, even if they were exhausted before, are made Ready again, and then you have to pay for them in the Balance Ledgers stage. Which means Batiatus starts at a -2 in the first round and stays there unless he manages to get slaves somehow. By exhausting his gladiators in the Intrigue phase he's really just getting the money back from what he paid before -- and that's only if he didn't end up losing all of his money in the Arena or something.
What this means is that Batiatus at the beginning not only has less gold with which to buy slaves compared to his competitors, but he also has less flexibility overall with money since he needs to save his gold to pay upkeep the next round.
BattleMonkey
Member
Then sell the excess gladiators if it bugs a person so much, they are worth gold and make up that first turn loss. And again it's quickly mitigated once you get extra slaves. and your "disadvantage" is no longer a problem.
The whole disadvantage really is short term and a player still has flexibility.
Slaves do go for a premium, but find it doesn't matter since it makes people picky on buying gladiators, which a Bat player should be gobbling up for the cheap and using for money or easy influence gains. Money is king in the game and being underdog in it actually gives a slight advantage as few are out for your blood while the rich boys are busy tossing schemes at each other. If you can do well in the arena early and build on that you can also build up good money from favored gladiators along with influence gains. Seen many people get into the trap of buying almost nothing but slaves and turning it into a slave war while only one or two players actually build up good gladiators
The whole disadvantage really is short term and a player still has flexibility.
Slaves do go for a premium, but find it doesn't matter since it makes people picky on buying gladiators, which a Bat player should be gobbling up for the cheap and using for money or easy influence gains. Money is king in the game and being underdog in it actually gives a slight advantage as few are out for your blood while the rich boys are busy tossing schemes at each other. If you can do well in the arena early and build on that you can also build up good money from favored gladiators along with influence gains. Seen many people get into the trap of buying almost nothing but slaves and turning it into a slave war while only one or two players actually build up good gladiators
timetokill
Banned
Yeah, this is Batiatus' power and that's the only time you can use house powers is during that phase.
Gaming Truth
Member
I'm following you timetokill, but I want to lay out the numbers for a sec.
Turn one, after ledgers:
Batiatus has 8 gold, 3 gladiators, 1 slave, 2 guards
Glaber has 11 gold, 1 gladiator, 2 slaves, 3 guards
Solonius has 12 gold, 2 gladiators, 2 slaves, 1 guard
Tullius has 10 gold, 2 gladiators, 3 slaves, 1 guard
As Batiatus, it's up to you what you want to do next. You can sell your two extra gladiators for 4 gold, be at 12 gold, but you'll have two dead specials. You could exhaust your 2 extras and be at 10 gold.
You're right, those 2 extra gladiators balance themselves out each turn between ledgers and intrigue, but Exhibition Match is supposed to make it easier for you to keep/upgrade a stable of guys. Buy better gladiators and sell off the flunkies. Host the games! Kill off Glaber's only gladiator (and laugh while doing it) or sell your extra to him (odds are, you have a better pool). Draw attention to the fact that you're poor and gang up on Solonius!
You don't have to do what it seems like you should be doing. You can go intrigue or slave mongering if you really want. I just wanted to point out that the numbers really even out (if you factor the purchase cost of the missing gladiators/slaves/guards) and that Solonius is the hardest to play!
Turn one, after ledgers:
Batiatus has 8 gold, 3 gladiators, 1 slave, 2 guards
Glaber has 11 gold, 1 gladiator, 2 slaves, 3 guards
Solonius has 12 gold, 2 gladiators, 2 slaves, 1 guard
Tullius has 10 gold, 2 gladiators, 3 slaves, 1 guard
As Batiatus, it's up to you what you want to do next. You can sell your two extra gladiators for 4 gold, be at 12 gold, but you'll have two dead specials. You could exhaust your 2 extras and be at 10 gold.
You're right, those 2 extra gladiators balance themselves out each turn between ledgers and intrigue, but Exhibition Match is supposed to make it easier for you to keep/upgrade a stable of guys. Buy better gladiators and sell off the flunkies. Host the games! Kill off Glaber's only gladiator (and laugh while doing it) or sell your extra to him (odds are, you have a better pool). Draw attention to the fact that you're poor and gang up on Solonius!
You don't have to do what it seems like you should be doing. You can go intrigue or slave mongering if you really want. I just wanted to point out that the numbers really even out (if you factor the purchase cost of the missing gladiators/slaves/guards) and that Solonius is the hardest to play!
BattleMonkey
Member
Mystery of the Abbey, thoughts? Sounds like it could be fun light high player game. Trying to get more games for 6 or so players, got most of the popular stuff and lot of light party games but want something bit meatier while not being too heavy cause of mixed playerbase (casual girlfriends).
platypotamus
Member
Looks like Eclipse expansion got delayed until mid december, putting it in doubt that I'll get my shipment before holiday gaming time.
So it looks like it's time to pull some shenanigans around and get it into a new order and get my current order shipping now
So it looks like it's time to pull some shenanigans around and get it into a new order and get my current order shipping now
Looks like Eclipse expansion got delayed until mid december, putting it in doubt that I'll get my shipment before holiday gaming time.
So it looks like it's time to pull some shenanigans around and get it into a new order and get my current order shipping now
fuck, guess i'll have to do the same if I want to play Spartacus lol.
platypotamus
Member
Spartacus is a potential contender for fixing up my orders. That and maybe a more recent Dominion expansion I haven't grabbed yet.
Dark Ages is pretty sweet. My group did one of the Dark Ages + Prosperity games in the manual (One Man's Trash I think) and it was a really interesting game.
Thinking about getting a new game to ply with my girlfriend, but I can't decide what...
Ideally I'd like something that's easy to get into but has some depth. Forbidden island has been fun but its quite simple. Dominion is awesome because its deep but the system is pretty simple and the cards all tell you what they do on them so we don't have to keep consulting the manual.
My main ideas are San Jose, Tigris and Euphrates, a few acres of snow or Puerto Rico.
I looked at the manual for a few acres of snow and it seems like it might be hard to get into since there are lots of different things you can do. Does it have any stuff to help remind you what you can do?
Ideally I'd like something that's easy to get into but has some depth. Forbidden island has been fun but its quite simple. Dominion is awesome because its deep but the system is pretty simple and the cards all tell you what they do on them so we don't have to keep consulting the manual.
My main ideas are San Jose, Tigris and Euphrates, a few acres of snow or Puerto Rico.
I looked at the manual for a few acres of snow and it seems like it might be hard to get into since there are lots of different things you can do. Does it have any stuff to help remind you what you can do?
BomberMouse
Member
If you are considering those heavier games, I can't recommend Agricola enough. Works great with two, you can modify how complicated it is, animeeples, etc. Other lighter games me and the wife loved were Carcassonne (expansions add a lot the the game) and Alhambra (same, there are many expansions to add more depth to the game).
I haven't really played the ones you recommend. T&E seemed a bit dry to me and PR supposedly shines with 3 or more, it's a different game with 2 people.
Played my first game of Power Grid tonight and highly enjoyed it. The first playthrough wasn't as daunting as I had anticipated, partly because I watched a pretty thorough walkthrough on Youtube, and used this excellent step based cheat sheet to walk us through it. Can't wait to break it out again!
San Jose = San Juan I presume? If so it's a pretty good game. Puerto Rico is my favorite game overall, but I haven't enjoyed the 2-player variant as much the few times I've tried it (it's default crowd is 3-5, the 2-player instructions can be found on the website). San Juan is basically Puerto Rico Lite, but it works really well with 2 so I enjoy it.
If your girlfriend (and/or you) is comfortable wading into slightly deeper waters, check out Race For The Galaxy. It uses the same role-selection mechanic as Puerto Rico and San Juan, but I (and most people) find it to be a much more compelling game.
Watch some videos on Tigris and Euphrates before you order up a copy. I know it's very highly ranked on BGG, and the strategy is there, but I find myself just unable to get in to it.
I've wondered about A Few Acres of Snow for a while now too. If I understand it right it's a deck building game underneath it all, so it may work for a duo who enjoys Dominion. There was some kind of gamebreaking imbalance issue when it was released, though. Any AFAOS players remember that and know if they fixed it?
I'll second BomberMouses's suggestion of Carcassonne. My wife and I enjoy that one occasionally. Of course, only one game has captured her enough that she actually suggests we play, and that is Ticket To Ride. We play various versions of that game constantly, so much so I forced her to learn Dominion so we could break it up a little.
San Jose = San Juan I presume? If so it's a pretty good game. Puerto Rico is my favorite game overall, but I haven't enjoyed the 2-player variant as much the few times I've tried it (it's default crowd is 3-5, the 2-player instructions can be found on the website). San Juan is basically Puerto Rico Lite, but it works really well with 2 so I enjoy it.
If your girlfriend (and/or you) is comfortable wading into slightly deeper waters, check out Race For The Galaxy. It uses the same role-selection mechanic as Puerto Rico and San Juan, but I (and most people) find it to be a much more compelling game.
Watch some videos on Tigris and Euphrates before you order up a copy. I know it's very highly ranked on BGG, and the strategy is there, but I find myself just unable to get in to it.
I've wondered about A Few Acres of Snow for a while now too. If I understand it right it's a deck building game underneath it all, so it may work for a duo who enjoys Dominion. There was some kind of gamebreaking imbalance issue when it was released, though. Any AFAOS players remember that and know if they fixed it?
I'll second BomberMouses's suggestion of Carcassonne. My wife and I enjoy that one occasionally. Of course, only one game has captured her enough that she actually suggests we play, and that is Ticket To Ride. We play various versions of that game constantly, so much so I forced her to learn Dominion so we could break it up a little.
We actually tried Carcassonne but really didnt enjoy it. It just seemed way too confusing to figure out how to best score points so we were just doing stuff randomly.
San Juan seems like a good choice, Race for the Galaxy might be a bit too nerdy with the space theme.
AFAOS has been tempting me for a while, I might try to read the manual properly today and make my mind up. I think maybe there was updated rules or something? Would be interested if anyone here has played it.
San Juan seems like a good choice, Race for the Galaxy might be a bit too nerdy with the space theme.
AFAOS has been tempting me for a while, I might try to read the manual properly today and make my mind up. I think maybe there was updated rules or something? Would be interested if anyone here has played it.
anonymous_abc
Member
we bought kingdom builder last week after having played it at the games fair last (!) year.
great game, very simple to get started with but every game is different and there are many tactical possibilities ^^
great game, very simple to get started with but every game is different and there are many tactical possibilities ^^
so it sounds like a few acres of snow is broken, and might not be fixed any time soon
been looking some more and now considering kingdom builder, caylus and ora et labora as well :S
I like Caylus a lot. The rules are fairly straightforward, but it does have a bit of a learning curve to be successful, though. Not familiar with Ora et Labora but if I put this in front of my wife she'd think I had lost my mind.
You just made baby Buzz cry.
Anyone here ever play Glen More?
joeyjoejoeshabadoo
Member
Ora et Labora is pretty awesome. It can get a bit heavy at times but if you are looking for a somewhat heavy Euro it's a good one. It plays well with 2 and can go up to four. I've played it 2 player and 3 and both felt about the same gameplay wise. If you are looking for Euro suggestions I really like Village. It came out last year and won the German strategy game of the year this year. You are managing both resources and time. So, like most euro games you are grabbing cubes from one area and turning them in to another area to do stuff. The twist to the game is the time mechanic, each action you do might cost time to do it. The more time you spend doing work the more workers will die of old age. It's an interesting balancing act of keeping your workers around long enough to do what you need them to do but not too long or else you may miss out on the bonus points you will get when they die. The Village works great with two, better with more so that's a plus.so it sounds like a few acres of snow is broken, and might not be fixed any time soon
been looking some more and now considering kingdom builder, caylus and ora et labora as well :S
BattleMonkey
Member
so it sounds like a few acres of snow is broken, and might not be fixed any time soon
been looking some more and now considering kingdom builder, caylus and ora et labora as well :S
Thought the 2nd edition fixed the original problems some folks had with the game.
There's an updated ruleset for A Few Acres that tries to resolve the issue, but the hardcore fans still aren't happy with the changes.
Honestly the exploit shouldn't stop people playing it casually. You see someone obviously doing it, you slap 'em
joeyjoejoeshabadoo
Member
Finally showed up. Thanks Xater for the quick shipment (wish I could say the same about my postal service). Looking forward to playing these on Thursday.
Glad they finally arrived. I was getting worried,especially since Neverfade got his game way earlier.
RaySpencer
Member
2 new games!
Agricola for my friend.
Eclipse for myself!
Im excited to play both, Eclipse seems pretty awesomely hardcore (but not as crazt as Twilight Imperium was). We will be playing Agricola tomorrow, and hopefully Eclipse pretty soon. Any tips or anything for playing these games? Not strategies, just stuff for setting up, or rules to change, or helpful tutorial type stuff.
We played some more Power Grid today too, I love that game. I think I actually enjoy The First Spark more though, haha.
Agricola for my friend.
Eclipse for myself!
Im excited to play both, Eclipse seems pretty awesomely hardcore (but not as crazt as Twilight Imperium was). We will be playing Agricola tomorrow, and hopefully Eclipse pretty soon. Any tips or anything for playing these games? Not strategies, just stuff for setting up, or rules to change, or helpful tutorial type stuff.
We played some more Power Grid today too, I love that game. I think I actually enjoy The First Spark more though, haha.
joeyjoejoeshabadoo
Member
My only guess is the hurricane held up my games. No idea why it took a week longer than Neverfade to get my package but at least it's here now.
Eclipse is surprisingly easy to learn and teach. The design is really elegant and since you are only taking one action a turn its easy to step through an action with new players. If you were able to handle TI then Eclipse is going to be cake.
For your first game I would suggest everyone play humans. It's easier to have everyone doing the same thing as opposed to the aliens which all have different abilities and weaknesses. After that you should be fine to mix things up.
RaySpencer
Member
Well, most of the people im playing with havent played TI, just 1 of the 4 other people. All humans seems boring too! The different races were one of my favorite parts about TI, and I dont know how often I will get to play Eclipse. So id rather not all be humans but if it makes a big difference difficulty wise I will suggest it.
Im really lookin forward to playing both of these games, haha. I usually dont really get my moneys worth with board games, since we play them once, have fun and then ont get much of a chance to play them again. But im really trying to get us all to play more. Should be good!
Saw Munchkin in a store and it looked like fun! Might get it, any impressions? Fun for 2p or better for more?
Also, i see looooaaaads of different versions/expansions.... What are they? Expansions? Versions? Are there any that stand out as exceptionally good or bad? Thanks
Also, i see looooaaaads of different versions/expansions.... What are they? Expansions? Versions? Are there any that stand out as exceptionally good or bad? Thanks
RaySpencer
Member
Saw Munchkin in a store and it looked like fun! Might get it, any impressions? Fun for 2p or better for more?
Also, i see looooaaaads of different versions/expansions.... What are they? Expansions? Versions? Are there any that stand out as exceptionally good or bad? Thanks
I think munchkin is extremely stupid. It has weird rules that expand outside of the game, like owning a statue that is currently looking at the game in progress gets the owner a bonus, and you can cheat and hold extra cards just don't get caught. Plus sometimes when you play you will get a monster that is literally impossible to kill for many many rounds so you get screwed.
It's seriously a weird fucking game.
Bbuuuuuutttt every one else in my board gaming group loves the hell out of it. So maybe I'm just weird. Haha. I just find it has way to little strategy and way too much random dumb luck and completely weird and bogus rules.
You are not weird. Munchkin is just a dumb game.
Klendathu Club Owner
Member
Saw Munchkin in a store and it looked like fun! Might get it, any impressions? Fun for 2p or better for more?
Also, i see looooaaaads of different versions/expansions.... What are they? Expansions? Versions? Are there any that stand out as exceptionally good or bad? Thanks
It's a reaaaally simple and light game. You build a character with numerous weapons and accessories and then you fight random monsters by comparing your strength (gained via the items) with the monster's strength. Then you get more items and so on. That's it, I think. The "funny" cards are the main draw, hence the numerous expansions to keep it fresh. But it can be entertaining for a few rounds until you know all the cards.
I wouldn't play it with only two people since one of the main aspects is to mess with the other players.
narcosis219
Member
+1 Munchkin hate.
It's an activity, not a game. Worth a single play perhaps, but not worth owning.
BattleMonkey
Member
Munchkin is the game that most non gamers like to play.
Fluxx is also the same garbage.
Fluxx is also the same garbage.
So you're saying my gf will love it? She hardly likes anything deeper than Dominion, and even that not often. I love deep, long games, she likes Cranium. Thought maybe Munchkin was something we both enjoy... But your guys' feedback and if it's bad for just 2p, I'll probablt hold off
Anything that both deep-game lovers and non-gamers would enjoy, for 2p? Maybe King Of Tokyo? :x Dominion/Roll through the ages were successful with her.
RaySpencer
Member
So you're saying my gf will love it? She hardly likes anything deeper than Dominion, and even that not often. I love deep, long games, she likes Cranium. Thought maybe Munchkin was something we both enjoy... But your guys' feedback and if it's bad for just 2p, I'll probablt hold off
Anything that both deep-game lovers and non-gamers would enjoy, for 2p? Maybe King Of Tokyo? :x Dominion/Roll through the ages were successful with her.
She might man. I don't enjoy the type of game that munchkin is, just like I don't enjoy killer bunnies. But they are both silly playing games heavy on theme and low on difficulty, very easy to get into and play, I just don't like the playing part so much.
There is definitely something there through, like I say, I know many people that enjoy the series. It would probably be worth your time to find a version of it in a the e both of you enjoy and pick it up. They are fairly cheep individually and you can at least get a few laughs out of the crazy stupid stuff on some of the cards. Just don't expect something to deep that you will want to play as often as something awesome and strategically interesting like dominion.
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