• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

The New Board Game Thread (Newcomer Friendly)

Status
Not open for further replies.

Apenheul

Member
It's an amazing game, but I hope you are aware that a game will last you at least 3 hours, maybe more if you don't know how to play.
We ended up playing for 7 hours and lost the fight against Hastur. Great game indeed, maybe a little overwhelming since it was our first session and I sometimes forgot about useful items I had, but nonetheless very fun to play especially since there's a sense of character-development IMO. Normally I'm not a fan of dice but in this game it adds to the tension.
 
good, the best, good, really good, terrible.



Le Havre is familiar enough to Agricola where you'll pick up on it pretty quickly (it also has fewer rules probably) but different enough to warrant owning both. It's superior to Agricola if you ask me.

Dominant Species is probably my other favorite worker placement but it's one of the heavier games of the genre.


As an aside, I find Twilight Struggle to be the antitheses of fun. Take that for what you will.

Le Havre is confusing to me. I dont really understand the game that well.

With that said, I agree on Dominant Species it is an awesome game, but more so intense than agricola. On the opposite end of intensity there is also Lord of Waterdeep, which is a light variation of the worker placement genre, like agricola. I enjoy it for the most part.
 

Xater

Member
Overall I am kinda disappointed with Forbidden Desert. I thought the added "complexity" of the water would make it more interesting compared to Forbidden Iland but it actually makes the game less fun. Especially if you have the water carrier around whose only thing to do is walk between people and give them water. My girlfriend was bored to tears by that role. Nice material especially in the German version but overall not as good as Forbidden Island and not even close to Pandemic.
 
I gotta say that for a chit-based war game, the 2nd edition of Conflict of Heroes has some beautiful components (those maps!) Even the chits have great art on them, and comes with a neat little tray that nicely stores everything.

Reading through the rules, they seem pretty easy to teach, as well. It seems to do what I loved about Earth Reborn, by only giving you enough rules to try out the first couple scenarios, so you can learn your way into the game.

Please developers, do this more.
 

Smiles Davis

Neo Member
I'm going to Gencon Sat. I live in Indy, so try and go every year. This will be the first year I'm a lot more interested in board gaming (previously was primarily for tabletop RPG). Looking forward to trying lots of stuff.

I need a game recommendation. I want something where players directly interact with one another. Many of the other games my group plays are either indirectly competitive (Power Grid/Ticket to Ride competing for routes) or competing with all other players simultaneously (Dominion Action cards). We have played Zombies!!!, which does have you 'attacking' other players directly through cards, though I didn't like the way this game plays. It seems like too much piling on someone and no real game play mechanic to make it fair.

It looks like King of Tokyo would be a good fit for what I want. Something like Netrunner would work too, though is only 2 player and majority of my board gaming is in a group of 4-6. Any other games come to mind?
 

ultron87

Member
I'll be at Gen Con Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I usually end up playing a lot of Magic events and need to remember to demo more board games this year.

I need a game recommendation. I want something where players directly interact with one another. . .

I got to play Cosmic Encounter last night and it was really fun. It is pretty much entirely player interaction. Maybe check that out.
 
What's confusing to you about Le Havre? It's way more straight forward then even Agricola.

Stock offer.

Take an offer OR use a building.


That's literally 80% of the game.

Probably has to do with the rulebook, which is hot garbage and makes it seem overly complex when it isnt. Learned to play it much quicker watching a YouTube video.
 

Xater

Member
What's confusing to you about Le Havre? It's way more straight forward then even Agricola.

Stock offer.

Take an offer OR use a building.


That's literally 80% of the game.

I also think that Agricola is way easier to get than Le Havre. Maybe it's because I tired learning i ton the iPad but I think Le Havre is a confusing mess.
 
The Le Havre rule book can not be worse than the Agricola one.

I understood the Agricola after I read it, but was left with nothing but questions after reading the Le Havre rules. They did a shitty job explaining such simple things. The rules for Le Havre could be summarized on 2 pages really.
 
Le Havre is kinda confusing. "I get how many more actions before I gotta feed people?" "Wait, how do I get fuel?" "What's the difference between coal and coke?" "How can I tell if I can build something or buy something?"

Just a little dense is all
 

Neverfade

Member
The Le Havre rule book can not be worse than the Agricola one.

It's not. BM is just crazy. ;p

Le Havre is kinda confusing. "I get how many more actions before I gotta feed people?" "Wait, how do I get fuel?" "What's the difference between coal and coke?" "How can I tell if I can build something or buy something?"

Just a little dense is all

Perhaps I'm misunderstanding 'dense' in this context, but I really don't see how most of the answers to those questions can be any clearer. I pulled up the pdf and found the answer to all those in about a minute in concise wording.


-The turn in which a ship is placed on the seventh Supply tile is the last in
a round. At the end of this turn, the current Round card is resolved
(see “End of a Round” page 7)

-How do I get energy?
Energy (identifi ed by the light bulb symbol) is used for processing many
upgrades.
• There is wood (1 energy) on the “Wood” Offer space.Wood is upgraded to
charcoal (3 energy) at the Charcoal Kiln.
• There are 3-4 coal (3 energy each) in the Colliery.
• Coal is upgraded to coke (10 energy) in the Cokery.
• Any 1 good may be exchanged for 1 charcoal (3 energy) in the Business
Offi ce.
• Players can often receive 2 wood from the Black Market.
• The Special buildings include the Smelter, which provides 1 coke and
1 coal for a total of 13 energy, the Town Square, which contains 1 coke
and 1 charcoal for a total of 13 energy, the Coal Trader, where players can
exchange food for energy, the Labour Exchange, where players receive
1 coal for each hammer, and the Wind Farm, which saves 3 energy on each
action.

-Only buildings in the Building Proposals can be built
The topmost buildings in the Building Proposals piles can either be
bought or built. Buildings that belong to the town cannot be built but can
only be bought (The buildings have already been constructed).
 
I also think that Agricola is way easier to get than Le Havre. Maybe it's because I tired learning i ton the iPad but I think Le Havre is a confusing mess.

I completely agree. I know the choices are simpler in Le Havre but I find it a mess too. I don't like Le Havre.
 
Any list anywhere yet that compiles new releases for Gencon, or as well as a list of the con exclusive stuff? Seen them in past years but see nothing good this year list wise made up yet.
 
Perhaps I'm misunderstanding 'dense' in this context, but I really don't see how most of the answers to those questions can be any clearer. I pulled up the pdf and found the answer to all those in about a minute in concise wording.

I just mean that there's a lot of little symbols and nuances to things that aren't immediately clear from the pieces, and require looking up (and I don't remember looking them up being as simple as it apparently was for you :)

I don't really have a horse in this race, as I really enjoy both games. I just think that both are pretty impenetrable for newbs.
 

AstroLad

Hail to the KING baby
Le Havre has an abundance of choice. It's understanding all the choices available and the relationships between them that's intimidating. It's also the fact that nearly all the information is public, and thus as a new player you feel like you're at a huge disadvantage having these cards coming up but not knowing what they do (unless you care to learn all of them). Agricola is a more brutal game I think in terms of how it feels difficult to be successful there, but Le Havre is a game that makes you feel as a new player that you are even more screwed than you would usually be by experience disadvantage. Agricola I'll play with anyone, but Le Havre I really try to play with people at similar skill levels. I also personally dislike how coming up short on food is a strategy (is it still dominant/required for high-level play?) -- prefer the Agricola approach of just being straight-up punished for starving. The opposite view is certainly just as valid, but the viability of debt, and the timing on it, adds an additional layer of complexity.

Agricola doesn't have as much variety in choices but it does have more mechanics like maintaining animals, a fuller harvest phase, etc. Personal experience I would say Le Havre is a little more intimidating (theme helps with Agricola imo), but this probably just comes down to preference.

Hey it's like BGG circa 2010 in here!
 
Any list anywhere yet that compiles new releases for Gencon, or as well as a list of the con exclusive stuff? Seen them in past years but see nothing good this year list wise made up yet.

This was the best I could find. I'll be mostly playing Heroclix there, but I'll probably check out some other games since I'll be there, Friday, Saturday, Sunday.

http://www.boardgamequest.com/new-game-releases-for-gen-con-2013/

I'm still digging around for info on promos/exclusives that will be there. I really have no interest in buying a game for above retail at the Con just because it's new.
 

Xater

Member
Have you guys heard of this new type of game called deckbuilding? They are kind of like CCGs, but you build your deck as you play instead of before. They sound really neat!

I don't know man that sounds weird.

I am still trying to figure out if Tzolkin will be something for me and my game group. My first fear is that I never felt enthusiastic about any worker placement game. After a while I just get bored of them. The other thing is that I fear new people just looking at the board and saying "No, thank you!"

I kinda want one more complex game, but it just seems that there isn't something out there for me because most of them are worker placement games. I just want something on the complexity level of Power Grid, but that actually also works with 2 people.
 
This was the best I could find. I'll be mostly playing Heroclix there, but I'll probably check out some other games since I'll be there, Friday, Saturday, Sunday.

http://www.boardgamequest.com/new-game-releases-for-gen-con-2013/

I'm still digging around for info on promos/exclusives that will be there. I really have no interest in buying a game for above retail at the Con just because it's new.

Yea saw that list, very much incomplete. Saw some folks talking about it and such on BGG but no one has gone and done a good extensive list this year as in past years. Hope soon someone comes out with some, want to try and plan where I got to run around too.
 

daevv

Member
I played Small World for the first time the other night and liked it. I don't like Risk as I find once you take a turn for the worst your game is over but in Small world you can reset your fortune, pick a new Race/Army, and start over. Also like how it doesn't rely on dice rolls too much.

I received my Kickstarter copy of Zogar's Gaze in the mail today and I'm looking forward to trying it out. It was the first thing I ever Kickstarted so getting it in the mail was exciting. Really cool to see something grow over the last few months and to finally get my hands on it.

Other Kickstarted games I'm waiting for:

Dungeon Roll
Dungeon Dice
Berserk: War of the Realms

Good shipping to Canada is always a plus and sadly has quickly become my deciding factor on if I back a game or not.
 
Played Tammany Hall again the other day, and there seems to be a common theme:

- New players are shit out of luck unless EVERYBODY is a new player
- Pettiness will make you lose every time
- Girls really do not like or understand this game

The last one is mostly a joke but it's true that I've not yet found a girl (out of 3) that has enjoyed the game, or even understood it. Just a funny coincidence.

The group was 2 "veteran" (read: played 3 times) players and 3 new players. We spent time introducing the game, and what I realized is that the game itself is not complicated, but it requires a different kind of thinking than most games. The strategy of manipulating votes happens so far in advance that it's extremely difficult for new players to understand the strategy and basically impossible to enact it. As a veteran, I didn't think I was making any particularly smart moves but still ended up about 12 pts ahead going into Term 3. It was pretty ridiculous.
 

besada

Banned
Taught my wife Thurn and Taxis this weekend. Also managed to get the whole group hooked on Stone Age. My wife has become a wicked good Stone Age player, and routinely emasculates me now.
 

Neverfade

Member
Le Havre has an abundance of choice. It's understanding all the choices available and the relationships between them that's intimidating. It's also the fact that nearly all the information is public, and thus as a new player you feel like you're at a huge disadvantage having these cards coming up but not knowing what they do (unless you care to learn all of them). Agricola is a more brutal game I think in terms of how it feels difficult to be successful there, but Le Havre is a game that makes you feel as a new player that you are even more screwed than you would usually be by experience disadvantage. Agricola I'll play with anyone, but Le Havre I really try to play with people at similar skill levels. I also personally dislike how coming up short on food is a strategy (is it still dominant/required for high-level play?) -- prefer the Agricola approach of just being straight-up punished for starving. The opposite view is certainly just as valid, but the viability of debt, and the timing on it, adds an additional layer of complexity.

Agricola doesn't have as much variety in choices but it does have more mechanics like maintaining animals, a fuller harvest phase, etc. Personal experience I would say Le Havre is a little more intimidating (theme helps with Agricola imo), but this probably just comes down to preference.

Hey it's like BGG circa 2010 in here!

Interesting. I'll just say the thing that appealed to me about Le Havre over Agricola was its abundance of choice. I still feel like I'm drowning when I play Agricola, even now after I've come to like it.
 

Smiley90

Stop shitting on my team. Start shitting on my finger.
So... I'm not sure if this is news or anything, but is Lords of Waterdeep always so cheap at Indigo/Chapters? I was always under the assumption that boardgames from Chapters (the few decent ones they have) were MSRP, if even. But just checking it out right now, my local good retailer (Starlit Citadel) has it listed as 54.95 (http://www.starlitcitadel.com/games/d-d-lords-of-waterdeep.html) (from the MSRP of 59.95), whereas Chapters has it at a whopping 37.62.- for non-Members! That's quite the discount. Does anyone know what's up with that? Is that a limited-time promotion?
 
So... I'm not sure if this is news or anything, but is Lords of Waterdeep always so cheap at Indigo/Chapters? I was always under the assumption that boardgames from Chapters (the few decent ones they have) were MSRP, if even. But just checking it out right now, my local good retailer (Starlit Citadel) has it listed as 54.95 (http://www.starlitcitadel.com/games/d-d-lords-of-waterdeep.html) (from the MSRP of 59.95), whereas Chapters has it at a whopping 37.62.- for non-Members! That's quite the discount. Does anyone know what's up with that? Is that a limited-time promotion?
I got mine from Chapters for that price a while back. They seem to drop it to that price once in a while and the free shipping is also a nice bonus. They've also got the Lords of Waterdeep expansion for $30 pre-order with free shipping. Those prices are only available online, of course.
 
Got my new game table finally, opens up more room on the rest of the sides for more shelves, for more games >:)

9248671122_cf934ae358_c.jpg


Table top can be detached and flipped for a standard flat dining table surface if I need more space.
 
Yo Stooge, where the fuck is Yedo? :p



Have you played Kemet? You should play Kemet.
I really want to play Kemet. I love Cyclades and have heard the comparisons between the two and it sounds like a good time.

Better than Terra Mystica? I thought both were pretty equal in terms of "worker placement"
I almost played Terra Mystica but it was too late and I was just too tired to process a new rule set.
 

Icefire1424

Member
Got my new game table finally, opens up more room on the rest of the sides for more shelves, for more games >:)

9248671122_cf934ae358_c.jpg


Table top can be detached and flipped for a standard flat dining table surface if I need more space.

That's a really slick gaming area. Building a house now and will have roughly 250 sq ft of finished basement of man cave I'm figuring out how to set up. Already planning on a comfy video game area with access to the NES, SNES, N64 and PS3, but something like that for the boardgames would be pretty neat. Shamelessly stealing this idea, thanks for the inspiration!
 

Neverfade

Member
I really want to play Kemet. I love Cyclades and have heard the comparisons between the two and it sounds like a good time.

I initially wrote it off for a long time because the board looked terrible. A buddy talked me into taking a second look after he got a play in and I'm glad I did. I understood it more, and it was an instant purchase after we played. And yeah, I'm a big Cyclades fan, too and while it has a similar feel, it doesn't replace it -- they're each their own complimentary beast.

Do yourself a favor though - don't play the long game. At least not with 5.
 
Played another game of Viticulture yesterday. I may have won if I took a different gamble in the last turn. Very close game. I enjoy Viticulture.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom