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The New Board Game Thread (Newcomer Friendly)

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Neverfade

Member
So we love BSG but still haven't touched an expansion. Looking over the rules for them, they all seem to add a bunch of complexity to the game which is a big turn off... extra boards also always set off alarms. Are they worth bothering to get at all? Really like how BSG vanilla plays


I love them. Yes there's more complexity but you piecemeal the modules to your liking. Very customizable. Exodus >>>> Pegasus. The cylon pursuit board is great. The New caprica board from Pegasus on the other hand is absolutely wretched.
 
I love them. Yes there's more complexity but you piecemeal the modules to your liking. Very customizable. Exodus >>>> Pegasus. The cylon pursuit board is great. The New caprica board from Pegasus on the other hand is absolutely wretched.
I don't like playing without the pursuit board, there is a possibility for too much down time without it. Adding in the board you know that it's only a matter of time before you have to deal with the Cylon fleet. I also like the reckless cards (don't remember if they are from Exodus or Pegasus) they make playing as a hidden Cylon that much better. The Pegasus board is also one we will always play with in our games. Pegasus has the firepower to deal with a huge Cylon fleet. Plus Cally is in the Exodus expansion and she is clearly the best character in the game.
 
Sounds like you've got a good starting bunch of games already. 'The Resistance' might work well too - good for large groups, easy to learn, kinda Werewolf-y but with a better structure.

I' ll take a look and see if it fits the group. Do you know of anywhere I can try to play a digital version or watch a play through? I don't know if anybody I know owns the game and I want a decent understanding of the game before I try teaching it to others.

7 Wonders would have been one of my suggestions, so good call there. You may want to pick up another standalone version of Ticket To Ride (like Europe) which comes with everything you need to play a separate game. You can use the trains and cards from either TTR US or TTR Europe with the Asia maps (which are excellent too).

For about $75 online you can get enough Dominion to accomodate 12 players (3 separate games going). That'd be the base game, Intrigue Expansion, and one set of base cards. Dominion is simple to pick and the variety in the cards keep it interesting for a long time. You can play with 6 at a table I believe, but it's best with 4 max, so split 'em up. One suggestion is to set up the game on each table (each one will have 10 different "kingdom" cards people will play with), then rotate everyone around so everyone plays one game at each table. Add up everyone's scores when you're done and name a champion.

Dixit Odyssey supports up to 12. I've never played with that many, but I bet it could be good fun. Wits & Wagers is fun too, and supports up to 7 players or teams.

Co-op games are good in this situation, because you just need one person at the table that knows the game and you can set them off to enjoy themselves while you help people elsewhere. Flash Point Fire Rescue supports up to 6 players and is very simple (in Family mode) to learn and teach. The theme is awesome too (fire fighting), so it's a good one for people who think games like Dominion look dumb due to their theme.

I'm debating getting the Marklin version of Ticket to Ride to have another basic version of the game and so I have another color of the train pieces to try create a six person version of the game. That will ultimately depend on what my budget looks like after buying everything else.

I wanted to buy a Dominon set, but I'm concerned about how people will react to seeing a card game that is fantasy themed. I know one specific person who if they see me pull out a deck they'll shout Magic and then people are going to walk away.

I'm not familiar with Dixit Odyssey, but I'll try to see if I can find a way to play it ahead of time. I know somebody with 'Wits and Wager' and 'Flash Point Fire Rescue' so those I'll definitely try to include those in my purchases.


I really appreciate the help, Thanks!
 

Neverfade

Member
I don't like playing without the pursuit board, there is a possibility for too much down time without it. Adding in the board you know that it's only a matter of time before you have to deal with the Cylon fleet. I also like the reckless cards (don't remember if they are from Exodus or Pegasus) they make playing as a hidden Cylon that much better. The Pegasus board is also one we will always play with in our games. Pegasus has the firepower to deal with a huge Cylon fleet. Plus Cally is in the Exodus expansion and she is clearly the best character in the game.

This is basically our setup. Pegasus ship and treachery cards from exp 1 and pursuit board and reckless from exp 2. And the characters obviously.
 

AstroLad

Hail to the KING baby
I' ll take a look and see if it fits the group. Do you know of anywhere I can try to play a digital version or watch a play through? I don't know if anybody I know owns the game and I want a decent understanding of the game before I try teaching it to others.

I hereby require you to get King of Tokyo. Your group will love it guaranteed, and it plays up to 7 with no problem. My only caveat about games like 7 Wonders is be careful who you play with and how you teach. Even though it feels like a really simple game, it can actually be a bit intimidating to non-gamers.

These are my favorite big-group games when there are non-gamers around (or you just need something quick):
1. King of Tokyo
2. RoboRally (another amazing one! a bit harder to teach than KoT but about on the level of TTR if you stick to the simple maps. can also easily play 8).
3. Ticket to Ride Team Asia
4. Time's Up (total party game but a lot of fun)
 
I'm debating getting the Marklin version of Ticket to Ride to have another basic version of the game and so I have another color of the train pieces to try create a six person version of the game. That will ultimately depend on what my budget looks like after buying everything else.

Interesting idea, but it won't work. The problem is the train cards. The card backing for each game (and size too, depending on if you expanded or not). So, yeah, Marklin has four-five other train colors (the reason why I can't play the expansions at the moment), but you'll never be able to merge the corresponding cards to either US/Europe or its card expansions.

I love Marklin though. The passenger variant makes things interesting along the lines of Settlers of America, etc., allowing you a completely alternate path to scoring points.
 
You can get a good idea of how it plays from the Tabletop episode:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6UlbxeDE0w

It's not an OMG I MUST HAVE THIS game but with the right group it can be a ton of fun.

I knew Tabletop was a thing, but I could not for the life of me remember what it was called.

I hereby require you to get King of Tokyo. Your group will love it guaranteed, and it plays up to 7 with no problem. My only caveat about games like 7 Wonders is be careful who you play with and how you teach. Even though it feels like a really simple game, it can actually be a bit intimidating to non-gamers.

These are my favorite big-group games when there are non-gamers around (or you just need something quick):
1. King of Tokyo
2. RoboRally (another amazing one! a bit harder to teach than KoT but about on the level of TTR if you stick to the simple maps. can also easily play 8).
3. Ticket to Ride Team Asia
4. Time's Up (total party game but a lot of fun)

I'm particularly aware of the issues in introducing people to 7 Wonders since the first time I played it was with two expansions and the person explaining the rules did a really poor job of it. I hated the game that first time, but thankfully I got a chance to play again with a different group of people and enjoyed it a lot more. I have very specific set of people I plan to teach it to first and then ease the rest in.

I'll definitely check out King of Tokyo and RoboRally the games themselves visually look fun which will probably put people at ease. I want to say somebody in my family has Time Up since I know I've played before I just can't recall when.

Interesting idea, but it won't work. The problem is the train cards. The card backing for each game (and size too, depending on if you expanded or not). So, yeah, Marklin has four-five other train colors (the reason why I can't play the expansions at the moment), but you'll never be able to merge the corresponding cards to either US/Europe or its card expansions.

I love Marklin though. The passenger variant makes things interesting along the lines of Settlers of America, etc., allowing you a completely alternate path to scoring points.

Do the back of the cards really matter though? I mean yeah everybody will know what set the cards are from, but they won't know exactly which ones they are as long I make it an even split. I probably need to physically look at the set before I make decision on that front, but at this point that won't be for while after all the input I've gotten.

Seriously you guys have been extremely helpful in giving me suggestions for what to buy. I really appreciate the help.
 

mercviper

Member
I'm debating getting the Marklin version of Ticket to Ride to have another basic version of the game and so I have another color of the train pieces to try create a six person version of the game. That will ultimately depend on what my budget looks like after buying everything else.

The Marklin version is fun, but I rarely bring it to the table because of the extra setup required for the passengers points. If anyone has any pointers for making that part less bothersome, I'm all ears.
 

Slacker

Member
I'm particularly aware of the issues in introducing people to 7 Wonders since the first time I played it was with two expansions and the person explaining the rules did a really poor job of it.

Do me a favor and flog the person who introduced new people to the game with two expansions included. 7 Wonders is intimidating enough to new players (though they quickly realize it's pretty straightforward) without adding more complexity. I hate people who do that. :p
 

Feep

Banned
Yo!

I played Acquire recently, and it had some *very* interesting mechanics. I got my shit rocked, though.

Can anyone tell me how this game's deeper mechanics hold up over time?
 

XShagrath

Member
Xshagrath, isn't CSI your local gamestore? Go find out when the hell Clash of Cultures is releasing!
The in-store employees have absolutely no idea about anything, except for Magic: The Gathering. It's pretty shitty, but they obviously have the best stock and price out of any store in town, so that's where I'm gonna go.

Their store near work has just a small room with a few (maybe 100 or so) games displayed, mostly the new releases and the run of the mill stuff like Agricola, Dominion, Arkham Horror, etc. You have to place an order online (either before you go there, or in the store at one of their kiosks) and then give them the order number and then they go pull it.

So, they opened a new store a few weeks ago a little further away and not nearly as convenient (I work about a mile away from their Orlando store), and they moved the warehouse over there, meaning I can't place an order at work and run over and pick it up 5 minutes later. Their new store used to be a La-Z-Boy furniture store. It's gigantic! I went over there to see if they had a better presence for boardgaming, and walked into this enormous room filled with nothing but tables and a couple of counters on the end. There was hardly any merchandise on display outside of CCG and Heroclix stuff. Sad, really.

The upside to that is I think all the smelly Magic nerds (no offense to anyone that plays MTG, just the smelly ones) have moved over there now. It was packed when I went in to check it out, and when I went to the old location the other day, there was only one person in there. Usually there's like 10-20 people minimum playing in there every time I go in, no matter what time it is.


I guess the short version is: They wouldn't have any idea what Clash of Cultures even is, sorry. BGG says it should arrive on shores first week of December or so, so hopefully you can get it before X-Mas.
 
Going over the Star Wars LCG... some interesting ideas though not sure how well it will be received with the whole forcing players to be light vs dark. So players have to always have two decks on hand? Kinda strange though thematic.

Also from the back of the book it sounds that one of the upcoming expanions for it is going to introduce a semi coop multiplayer version of the game, where up to 3 players will play together against one powerful dark side player.
 
The in-store employees have absolutely no idea about anything, except for Magic: The Gathering.

This is my favorite thing about Card Kingdom up here in Seattle (the one Penny Arcade is always talking about). Board Games (and pen and paper, and miniatures) get just as much respect and attention as Magic. Most of the floor space is for board games (though Magic gets a big play area in the back), and the employees know board games pretty well. Also the built in bar where you can play any of their open board games while drinking is awesome.



Anyway, Mage Knight seems pretty rad. It wasn't until nearly the end of that first scenario that things were really starting to click for us, but I'm really looking forward to playing a real scenario now. Sadly, that might not be for a week or so
 
I haven't played it but I can say with some confidence that yes, it is a good game. I like the idea that there are a couple different ways to play it. It's on my Christmas list for next year when the kids are a little older.


I'm trying to keep myself from buying every expansion to every game I get (Carcassonne taught me not to do that). Is there one map that stands out as a winner? We'll typically have 4-5 people playing. Is the Robots expansion worth a purchase?

I actually really like the Japan/Russia expansion as it changes the rules of the game somewhat - In Japan you get two networks to start with but expansion is very limited and in Russia you use a reduced commodities market and a different setup for power plants. The original maps are good though I find US difficult to really expand through leaving a lot of the map untouched.

I have also found the France/Italy expansion quite good as they seem to offer more balanced expansion than Germany/US. I have purchased the expansion power plant pack but haven't really used it. if you are going to stick to one map pack then it might provide you with more variability.

I typically only play with 4 or 5 people and with 5 we had to expand to almost every single spot in Japan through Step 3 in order to initiate the end game. Where as with Germany and US we can typically end the game before Step 3.

Powergrid and Dominion are the two games that I will happily buy all the expansions for.
 
Going over the Star Wars LCG... some interesting ideas though not sure how well it will be received with the whole forcing players to be light vs dark. So players have to always have two decks on hand? Kinda strange though thematic.

Also from the back of the book it sounds that one of the upcoming expanions for it is going to introduce a semi coop multiplayer version of the game, where up to 3 players will play together against one powerful dark side player.
I don't know anything about either game, but Android Netrunner also forces one side vs the other side.

This is my favorite thing about Card Kingdom up here in Seattle (the one Penny Arcade is always talking about). Board Games (and pen and paper, and miniatures) get just as much respect and attention as Magic. Most of the floor space is for board games (though Magic gets a big play area in the back), and the employees know board games pretty well. Also the built in bar where you can play any of their open board games while drinking is awesome.



Anyway, Mage Knight seems pretty rad. It wasn't until nearly the end of that first scenario that things were really starting to click for us, but I'm really looking forward to playing a real scenario now. Sadly, that might not be for a week or so
Yeah, no. Fuck Card Kingdom. You can't talk about that and compare it to other places. Card Kingdom is some magical place with everything, EVERYTHING a gamer would want. It's even connected to a bar you can drink and play games at. You can't throw that store around as an example casually. It's like comparing a local carnival to Disneyland.
I want to move to Seattle
 

Petrie

Banned
Ty
Anyone play Pandemic? I have an unopened one but I'm not sure my group will dig it. So to keep or sell it? Is the iphone game based on it?

I really like it. Excellent co-op, adjustable difficulty, simple to learn but enough depth to stay interested, and a quicker playtime.

Comes down to how your group likes the theme though.
 
Ty

I really like it. Excellent co-op, adjustable difficulty, simple to learn but enough depth to stay interested, and a quicker playtime.

Comes down to how your group likes the theme though.

Yeah, we usually play more tame user friendly fare, so I'm not sure they'll dig it.
 
Yeah, no. Fuck Card Kingdom. You can't talk about that and compare it to other places. Card Kingdom is some magical place with everything, EVERYTHING a gamer would want. It's even connected to a bar you can drink and play games at. You can't throw that store around as an example casually. It's like comparing a local carnival to Disneyland.
I want to move to Seattle

Sorry, should have thrown a #Humblebrag on the end there.

And I recommend moving to Seattle, and still would even without Card Kingdom. Wonderful city!
 

Draxal

Member
Going over the Star Wars LCG... some interesting ideas though not sure how well it will be received with the whole forcing players to be light vs dark. So players have to always have two decks on hand? Kinda strange though thematic.

Also from the back of the book it sounds that one of the upcoming expanions for it is going to introduce a semi coop multiplayer version of the game, where up to 3 players will play together against one powerful dark side player.

My biggest problem is the suspension of belief factor in this game is rather large. I don't know if i could buy some random stormtrooper destroying Home 1 etc.
 

sca2511

Member
Girlfriend and I bought the Munchkin base card game yesterday, but the rules are sort of confusing. Any tips or links on how to start playing?
 
I actually really like the Japan/Russia expansion as it changes the rules of the game somewhat - In Japan you get two networks to start with but expansion is very limited and in Russia you use a reduced commodities market and a different setup for power plants. The original maps are good though I find US difficult to really expand through leaving a lot of the map untouched.

I have also found the France/Italy expansion quite good as they seem to offer more balanced expansion than Germany/US. I have purchased the expansion power plant pack but haven't really used it. if you are going to stick to one map pack then it might provide you with more variability.

I typically only play with 4 or 5 people and with 5 we had to expand to almost every single spot in Japan through Step 3 in order to initiate the end game. Where as with Germany and US we can typically end the game before Step 3.

Powergrid and Dominion are the two games that I will happily buy all the expansions for.
I like Japan's map, but as many have pointed out on BGG, the map is downright unplayable for 6 players (and much better at 3-4): the limited number of cities makes it very strategic, but depending on the pacing and how people place their initial cities, it can easily choke someone out of expansion right at the start: Personally I'm indifferent to that type of game style, but I know the group enjoys more of the whole resource bidding competition that the map position battles.

I would agree that if you're looking for more of a balanced game that France is definitely a step up from the US map.
 
My biggest problem is the suspension of belief factor in this game is rather large. I don't know if i could buy some random stormtrooper destroying Home 1 etc.

Well you kinda have to for most card games. In the decipher game you could have a single fighter with right combo of cards take out huge capital ships and such.

And it's up to other players to defend their stuff, otherwise sure, some stormtroopers get on board the ship, they are going to do some damage to it. Abstractions will always be up to the player to figure out how something happens in a card game with some form of narrative explanation. Lot of goofy things can happen in ccg like games based on properties. The whole game is designed around a loose abstraction of an entire conflict with various unrelated objective events that all add up together to victory or defeat in the long term.
 
Anybody else keep track of plays? I've been keeping track of just the games I played, no other stats just games played, since 2010. I may have missed a few games here or there but I'm pretty consistent. Anyway, here's the list of game with 10 or more plays:
7 Wonders 19
Agricola 19
Ticket to Ride 18
King of Tokyo 17
Plato 3000 13
Jericho 12
Liar's Dice 11
Lords of Vegas 10
The Resistance 10
I find it funny that out of all the games I logged (600+) I still have yet to reach 20 times played on any one game. The newest game on the list is Plato 3000 which has a lot of plays due to how quick it plays and how tiny the box is. My wife and I will usually play two games of it when we sit down to play and it's a game that we will usually take with us when we are out and about. King of Tokyo is the other relatively new game to get a ton of plays. I got that on in August and already logged 17 plays. Now that I have the expansion, It actually might hit 20 games before either 7 Wonders or Agricola.

Some other boring stats I learned, I've played 110 unique game so far this year with 235 plays logged. The list of games with 4 or more plays for the year:
King of Tokyo 17
Plato 3000 13
7 Wonders 7
Battlestar Galactica 6
Eminent Domain 6
Last Will 6
Biblios 5
Hemloch 5
Blood Bowl: Team Manager - The Card Game 4
Dungeon Petz 4
Eclipse 4
Fortune and Glory: The Cliffhanger Game 4
Friday 4
Lancaster 4
Quarriors! 4
Sentinels of the Multiverse 4
Sid Meier's Civilization: The Board Game 4
Village 4
Zombicide 4
Most of the games I played this month had one or two plays and there are a handful of games with three plays. Except for Sentinels of the Multiverse and Quarriors! I own all these games so at least I play some of my collection more than once.
 
Anybody else keep track of plays?

I try to. Only the games I play physically. I've tracked 317 plays. Here's my double digit games:

Dominion: Intrigue 18
Dominion: Prosperity 18
7 Wonders 17
Dominion 15
Innovation 15
Kingdom Builder 13
Dominion: Seaside 12​

Note that with expansions I increment both the base game and the expansion if I use both. With Dominion, I increment any expansions that had cards in the mix. I kind of refuse to believe I've actually played more Prosperity than Seaside, so I think some of them weren't tracked.


My "games played more than once this year" stat is pretty sad. Lots of Kingdom Builder, some Ghost Stories, and then mostly stuff I didn't like much (Munchkin, Quarriors).
 

Helmholtz

Member
Hey guys, board game noob here looking for advice.
For the past 2ish years I've played a fair amount of Catan, and its cities and knights expansion with my brother and a group of friends. I was thinking of getting a new board game of some sort to change things up.

Does anyone have any recommendations? I guess some criteria I'd be looking for is:

-3-4 players minimum
-Not too much more complex/hard to learn than settlers with cities and knights
-Possibly less reliant on chance/luck (dice roll), if such a thing exists

If anyone has recommendations I'd appreciate it!
 
I've got a few Loyang games going on Yucata.
Also really liking Trajan on boiteaujeux, if anyone is interested.
I've given Myrmes a go. My ant colony is not doing well.
 

Neverfade

Member
Hey guys, board game noob here looking for advice.
For the past 2ish years I've played a fair amount of Catan, and its cities and knights expansion with my brother and a group of friends. I was thinking of getting a new board game of some sort to change things up.

Does anyone have any recommendations? I guess some criteria I'd be looking for is:

-3-4 players minimum
-Not too much more complex/hard to learn than settlers with cities and knights
-Possibly less reliant on chance/luck (dice roll), if such a thing exists

If anyone has recommendations I'd appreciate it!

Puerto Rico is a tried and true luckless classic that's not too difficult.
 

Helmholtz

Member
Puerto Rico is a tried and true luckless classic that's not too difficult.
Thanks for the recommendation. And I feel kind of stupid for ignoring the OP haha, it's very good. I'm now trying to choose between Puerto Rico and Agricola. Is Agricola a lot more difficult to learn? Is it as fun or more fun? Just looking for opinions. We'll mostly be playing in groups of 3-4.
 
Thanks for the recommendation. And I feel kind of stupid for ignoring the OP haha, it's very good. I'm now trying to choose between Puerto Rico and Agricola. Is Agricola a lot more difficult to learn? Is it as fun or more fun? Just looking for opinions. We'll mostly be playing in groups of 3-4.

Agricola is simple but can be tough to learn and scary to newbie players due to the poor rulebook and all the cards. Puerto Rico is very easy and straight forward to learn/play.
 

Icefire1424

Member
My biggest problem is the suspension of belief factor in this game is rather large. I don't know if i could buy some random stormtrooper destroying Home 1 etc.

So Rookie question here, I know, but what is an LCG anyways? Compared to a CCG, for example (played the Star Wars CCG when I was younger, interested in this one now).
 

fenners

Member
So Rookie question here, I know, but what is an LCG anyways? Compared to a CCG, for example (played the Star Wars CCG when I was younger, interested in this one now).

"Living Card Game". It's nothing to do with the gameplay but the distribution. With CCGs, you buy a pack of cards & it's random what's in it. With FFG's "living card game" setup, there's no randomness. The contents of each pack is fixed & known - think of it as a mini-expansion pack. So you've still got the deckbuilding element of a CCG but no "spend to win" element really as the card distribution is totally fixed - if there's some card you gotta have, you just buy that expansion pack.
 

Icefire1424

Member
"Living Card Game". It's nothing to do with the gameplay but the distribution. With CCGs, you buy a pack of cards & it's random what's in it. With FFG's "living card game" setup, there's no randomness. The contents of each pack is fixed & known - think of it as a mini-expansion pack. So you've still got the deckbuilding element of a CCG but no "spend to win" element really as the card distribution is totally fixed - if there's some card you gotta have, you just buy that expansion pack.

Ah, very cool, thanks mate. Will be keeping an eye out for this one, looks pretty fun.
 
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