Cooking your cute little animals is so much fun though.
The lack of card hands in Caverna sounds like a bummer.
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The New Board Game Thread (Newcomer Friendly)
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Cooking your cute little animals is so much fun though.
The lack of card hands in Caverna sounds like a bummer.
Was one of my favourite games at BGG.Con this year, but I can see it not being everyone's cup of tea. Hidden teams, automatic elimination of whichever team ends up in last place at final scoring, unclear timing of when the end of game will be, and a rulebook that contains all the rules but does a horrible job at teaching you how to play.
Despite that, it's a great mix of deck building, area control, conflict, variable scoring mechanisms, and a whole bunch more. I loved it.
Yeah, trying to learn this game from scratch was a pain. First game involved us fumbling around, until my teammate killed one of the restorationist's main agents with 3 points on the board. It would probably be better with another play, but it did really rub me the wrong way.
The mishmash of mechanics remind me Archipelago, which I should try again.
It's already arrived, so hopefully I can try it this evening with 3.
I was really hyped for Caverna until I found out how it's different from Agricola (note that I haven't played Caverna yet). First, the need to diversify is a strength of Agricola IMO because the game is about making the right choices at the right time, rather than just making the right choices. Also, the cards that get dealt around before the game starts give each player an advantage in one or more areas so what was the path to victory last time might not be the best strategy for another session. And regarding feeding people, I guess that it's a hurdle for 1st time players but honestly I've never played a single game in which I had to draw a beggar card.
billmcdougal
Member
First off, hi guys! I expect to check this thread regularly, as I've been getting more and more in to boardgames. These forums are great, so I figured it'd be a good place for research and discussion.
7 Wonders is fun. It's not my favorite theme/setting, but the mechanics are good. It feels a little sterile, just competing to have the most "victory points" dealing with various resources.
Mage Knight is way too complicated and way too long. I love the theme/setting and the art, but the mechanics are just too convoluted. I don't really want to play that again. which is sad, because I was excited at first.
Nexus Ops is fantastic. It's the only boardgame I asked for for Christmas, and was delighted to receive it. The theme/setting is great. Playing it reminds me of Starcraft. Collect resources, spend them on various combat units with strengths and weaknesses, and then battle others for control or to wipe them out. I had borrowed an older version in the past and was sad to give it back. Now that I have the newer edition, I'm very glad to find that they have done wonders for the replayability. The game now includes optional rules for all kinds of variants, and has game pieces specifically for these variants. The card that shows how the units work even has a flip-side with completely alternate units you can choose to use. I'd say this is my favorite boardgame at the moment.
I plan to post again shortly about other games I've recently played and about the cardgame I am excited to have just backed on kickstarter (first timer) as well.
7 Wonders is fun. It's not my favorite theme/setting, but the mechanics are good. It feels a little sterile, just competing to have the most "victory points" dealing with various resources.
Mage Knight is way too complicated and way too long. I love the theme/setting and the art, but the mechanics are just too convoluted. I don't really want to play that again. which is sad, because I was excited at first.
Nexus Ops is fantastic. It's the only boardgame I asked for for Christmas, and was delighted to receive it. The theme/setting is great. Playing it reminds me of Starcraft. Collect resources, spend them on various combat units with strengths and weaknesses, and then battle others for control or to wipe them out. I had borrowed an older version in the past and was sad to give it back. Now that I have the newer edition, I'm very glad to find that they have done wonders for the replayability. The game now includes optional rules for all kinds of variants, and has game pieces specifically for these variants. The card that shows how the units work even has a flip-side with completely alternate units you can choose to use. I'd say this is my favorite boardgame at the moment.
I plan to post again shortly about other games I've recently played and about the cardgame I am excited to have just backed on kickstarter (first timer) as well.
Played several games of Coup and Escape: The Curse of the Temple last night.
I found Escape to be a really fun opener. You get some nice camaraderie as people run back to save their trapped friends and it has the kind of real time tension you see in something like Galaxy Trucker that doesn't usually come up in board games. And it takes ten minutes, so it is easy to knock a few games out as people are showing up. We were really bad at it.
I don't think Coup works very well with 6 people. The ability to bluff is extremely limited because there's only 3 cards not in someone's hand, and a single Ambassador use can get most of the information out there. So it is really difficult to bluff. This felt like it quickly led to games where for the majority of the time everyone know what everyone is, and everyone's moves are kind of rote. And it led to several Kingmaker situations which kind of suck. I love the idea, and some of my friends have said it is better with 4 or 5 so I definitely want to play some more.
Over the holidays I watched almost every Shut Up and Sit Down review. I now wanna buy like 10 games. Heh.
I found Escape to be a really fun opener. You get some nice camaraderie as people run back to save their trapped friends and it has the kind of real time tension you see in something like Galaxy Trucker that doesn't usually come up in board games. And it takes ten minutes, so it is easy to knock a few games out as people are showing up. We were really bad at it.
I don't think Coup works very well with 6 people. The ability to bluff is extremely limited because there's only 3 cards not in someone's hand, and a single Ambassador use can get most of the information out there. So it is really difficult to bluff. This felt like it quickly led to games where for the majority of the time everyone know what everyone is, and everyone's moves are kind of rote. And it led to several Kingmaker situations which kind of suck. I love the idea, and some of my friends have said it is better with 4 or 5 so I definitely want to play some more.
Over the holidays I watched almost every Shut Up and Sit Down review. I now wanna buy like 10 games. Heh.
The game starts with zero information, bluffs are wide open.
SillyEskimo
Member
UPS just got here. It looks like I'll have plenty to paint this summer.
I don't get Kickstarter sometimes like after you pledge you have to basically answer 20 survey questions describing what your pledge contains. It would be like doing an Amazon preorder for a couple games and then in a month's time getting asked a bunch of questions about what you ordered. Janktown.
SillyEskimo
Member
Zombicide original game:
6 survivors
65 zombies
Toxic City Mall:
4 survivors
10 alternate zombie survivors (4 for this expansion + zombie versions of the 6 original)
29 "toxic" zombies
Prison Outbreak:
6 survivors
6 alternate zombie versions
49 zombies
29 "berserker" zombies
Totals=
16 survivors
16 alternate zombie versions of every survivor
172 various zombies
I'm extremely impressed with the variety of zombies. There are male and female versions of every single type and sub type of zombie! The toxic and berseker zombies are all new male and female sculpts!
Very cool stuff. I'm glad I have this game!
I've played it a ton and still really enjoy it. Got my brother in law into it over the holidays and he is looking to pick it up as well. I'm still tweeking the item and spawn decks to get the desired difficulty and variety.
For season 3 I would mainly like to see new boards. Think I have enough zombies and characters now.
For season 3 I would mainly like to see new boards. Think I have enough zombies and characters now.
BattleMonkey
Member
Outside of new heroes, really could care less of them ever doing anymore zombicide. Found Toxic City and Season 2 to be messy and made the game unfun.
The Horror the horror
Banned
Just purchased Puerto Rico.
Out of the other board games I've purchased recently, including Pandemic, Ghost Stories, and Lord of the Rings: The Card Game, Puerto Rico seems more difficult to grasp, and I've been busting my brains out - watching youtube videos and re-reading the instruction manual - trying to get it.
The problem is I've never played a resource-based board game like Puerto Rico, so I don't have much of a point of reference. With Lord of the Rings Card game, I understood the fundamentals from my experience playing Magic the Gathering. I'll be studying from the ground up with Puerto Rico, and I'm hoping it'll end up being worth it.
Out of the other board games I've purchased recently, including Pandemic, Ghost Stories, and Lord of the Rings: The Card Game, Puerto Rico seems more difficult to grasp, and I've been busting my brains out - watching youtube videos and re-reading the instruction manual - trying to get it.
The problem is I've never played a resource-based board game like Puerto Rico, so I don't have much of a point of reference. With Lord of the Rings Card game, I understood the fundamentals from my experience playing Magic the Gathering. I'll be studying from the ground up with Puerto Rico, and I'm hoping it'll end up being worth it.
joeyjoejoeshabadoo
Member
Would just playing season 2 be ok? I traded away the first Zombicide and just kept Season 2, but I haven't even played it yet. I haven't picked up Toxic City yet but I may hold off if it just muddies game play.
BomberMouse
Member
I'm so bitter I can't get Ora et Labora or Caverna :/
Can't believe there are still stock problems.
Can't believe there are still stock problems.
BattleMonkey
Member
I wasn't a fan, to me the game felt fine as it was in the base game. The new zombie types kinda muddle everything up and using any one of them cranks up the scenarios difficulty up a good amount. Season 2 can be annoying because of the many tight quarters. Some things were added for season 2 stuff that can be helpful for players such as towers and the special guard door features. Toxic City didn't really add much with its new tiles gameplay wise, it mainly just added the new characters and the toxic zombies.
The new stuff to me just makes the game overall longer to play while making it a bit more frustratingly difficult. Oh you got a ranged focused character? Too bad the berserkers can't be harmed by you, you should waste valuable character inventor to have melee weapon on you at all times which your not good at using. Same with the toxic zombies. The zombviver rules also are just kinda lame in theme and design, it actually can benefit you to let your survivor die in some scenarios. But it seems to be put in there just in response to the difficulty spike the new stuff adds. While it also makes games last longer as everyone takes longer to die, while also promoting the new ultrared leveling where players can keep leveling till they earn every ability of a character.
And zombie dogs, fuck them. Hate runners? Dogs are much worse.
We loved zombicide but all the new stuff to us just wasn't fun. The core original game to me just felt like a much more smoother experience that was just right.
I love, love, love Puerto Rico. The key to it is to realize that there are many paths to victory, but ultimately you need to ship goods to earn points. After a handful of plays you can experiment with just buying buildings to maximize VPs or the more wacky methods like corn monopoly, but early on your goal should be to produce goods to ship (with a little to trade for $$$ on the side). While it is true that PR can become "mechanical" at a certain level (play with very experienced players and they will easily predict your optimal move and then whine and moan if you don't pick it, then accuse you of favoring some other player
it is still very fun. I have the deluxe anniversary edition and I treasure it.Not a Leacock fan, but Friday's PA comic is pretty funny:
http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2014/01/03
http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2014/01/03
Prophet Steve
Member
It actually is pretty easy, but I also had trouble reading the instructions. It is because there is not really more to it than the roles, and only when you know them all you understand the game.
Maybe if you know the very essence of the roles you understand how the game works.
The Settler: Can take a quarry and place it on your field.
The Mayor: Can take colonists and place it on your quarrys/buildings to activate them.
The Builder: Allows you pay for a building that gives bonuses if they are activated and are worth points.
The Craftsman: Produces goods based on what quarrys are activated
The Trader: Allows you to sell a good for money
The Captain: Allows you to ship goods that give you points.
The Prospectors (sometimes not used): Gain money.
These are basically the essentials of the game, and you can see how they work with each other. So for example you first need to use The Craftsman to gain goods before you use The Captain or The Trader.
When everything clicks, the game is pretty easy to do as the rest of the mechanics are easy. It takes some time to read what the buildings do exactly, but you can just keep the rules as a reference for that.
billmcdougal
Member
So I just backed this the other day: WARAGE
It's the first Kickstarter I've backed, as the game looks great to me. I used to enjoy playing MtG, and always thought it'd be cool to play a card game where you battle other players and can equip a character with weapons and armor. This game jumped out at me as something I believe I would really like to play.
The backing is slightly disappointing though. I'd love to get some stretch goals included in my order, but it doesn't seem to be backed that much more than its goal so far.
I just wanted to share this with you guys in case you are interested and/or to get any opinions you might have about this or about backing kickstarter boardgames in general.
It's the first Kickstarter I've backed, as the game looks great to me. I used to enjoy playing MtG, and always thought it'd be cool to play a card game where you battle other players and can equip a character with weapons and armor. This game jumped out at me as something I believe I would really like to play.
The backing is slightly disappointing though. I'd love to get some stretch goals included in my order, but it doesn't seem to be backed that much more than its goal so far.
I just wanted to share this with you guys in case you are interested and/or to get any opinions you might have about this or about backing kickstarter boardgames in general.
Fist pump, just won my first game of Castles of Burgundy online (after two losses). Found it at one of those mall kiosk stores for half off so went online to learn how to play. Great game! I really hope I can get my wife playing it, as it's a bit higher on the complexity scale than our usual games.
billmcdougal
Member
I now have a wish list, partially informed by this thread:
Android: Netrunner
Descent: Journeys in the Dark
Forbidden Island
Gloom
Hanabi
Infiltration
Onirim
Pandemic
Seasons
Sentinels of the Multiverse
Android: Netrunner
Descent: Journeys in the Dark
Forbidden Island
Gloom
Hanabi
Infiltration
Onirim
Pandemic
Seasons
Sentinels of the Multiverse
SillyEskimo
Member
I can do a Descent breakdon similar to my Zombicide one if you'd like. I'd kind of like to photograph all that stuff anyway.
billmcdougal
Member
Sure, I'd appreciate that.
I actually just got done telling my coworker, who is really in to models and minis, about Zombicide after having read your enthusiastic post about it.
EDIT: I must not have looked very hard at that game. I knew it was cooperative, but did not realize that you need a player to be against the coop group as well. It sounds pretty interesting, just not what I expected.
BattleMonkey
Member
Descent, if its not the original 1st edition, then don't bother. The 2nd edition is a mess
billmcdougal
Member
I just got done explaining in an edit that it wasn't what I thought it was, lol. Thanks for the opinion that it's not that good, also
Bump from the last page since it was at the bottom. Anyone play Sergeants Miniatures? I'm a sucker for games with nice components and this game looks really nice (and expensive!).
SillyEskimo
Member
I just got done explaining in an edit that it wasn't what I thought it was, lol. Thanks for the opinion that it's not that good, also
Yeah, you'll need a player to be the overlord for Descent. The more I play it, I think second edition may be better than first. The second edition is ranked higher on BGG by a fair margin. It's hard to say really because they each have their pros and cons. We also end up "house ruling" both editions to one degree or another. That's really the thing to pretty much every modular miniature based board game I have ever played though. You and your group have to not be the type to rule hunt and bring the game to a screeching halt when the rules aren't crystal clear in certain scenarios. You have to be able to throw out parts you don't care for and even create a new rule here and there. By doing those few things, any of these types games can be amazing. When I play with my family & friends, it's about creating those perfect moments within the game that people will reflect back on with a smile. The environment has to be right to create those types of situations, and rule nazis need not apply. The type of scenario where the hero is able to be exceptionally heroic, or when the overlord's well laid plans finally come to fruition are what these heavily thematic board games are all about for me and my group.
If you're looking for games to play co-op in the same vein as a dungeon crawler, I would suggest Gears of War. I believe the D&D board games Legends of Drizzt, Wrath of Ashardalon, and Castle Ravenloft all have co-op. Someone back me up on those, I have yet to buy or play them but I think I read that when looking at them in the past.
As an FYI, Mansions of Madness also requires an "overlord" player.
Good luck and have fun.
billmcdougal
Member
That actually sounds pretty awesome.
SillyEskimo
Member
Unlike Zombicide, which was brand new when I took the pics, Descent 2.0 has been mixed after several playthroughs. This means you get pics with the main game and 3 expansions all together
16 Heroes total
60-ish Monsters of various sizes and quality, though most are great (red ones are superior in stats)
There are cards for each hero and monster, chits galore, and a plethora of cards. The board itself is 2 sided, one in a dungeon motif and the other a woodland area with some specialty segments as well. All of these can be used to create your own scenerios once you get used to the game using QuestVault.
http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_news.asp?eidn=3871
Another cool thing I suggest is to download the rules to any of these or any other games you may be interested in and look them over for yourself.
http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_minisite_sec.asp?eidm=176&esem=4
Overall, Descent 1.0 was a better value. More miniatures, more stuff, and cheaper. However, the production values of 2.0 are better and the hero miniatures are heads and shoulders better than the original versions. Speaking of, if you somehow were able to get your hands on the original version, there is a conversion kit for 2.0 that incorporates all those heroes and monsters. It's extremely nice as it doubles, even triples the amount of heroes and monsters available.
Descent 2.0 is a fun game that shortens the game length from 1.0 a pretty good deal. Those 1.0 games could kind of drag on and on at times. TBH, 2.0 can still suffer from this issue.
BattleMonkey
Member
The DnD board games are pure coop, no overlord type of player.
SillyEskimo
Member
Yeah, I guess I knew that. Solo play was the feature I was thinking of that those D&D games have that is rather unique.
Yep. Those games are expressly co-op, although they can very much be played solo if you don't mind having to manage multiple characters. Playing 1 character versus the dungeon does not seem to scale well.
We own all 3 and have gotten a lot of play out of them. A couple of warnings, though:
- Castle Ravenloft is a bit unfair in its difficulty. We've found WoA and LoD to be the right level of challenge.
- These do NOT play like DnD, despite looking very much like 4th Edition. That may seem obvious to some, but it has bothered a few people that we've played with.
BattleMonkey
Member
Wouldn't be much of a board game if it played like DnD and took hours for a combat encounter. The combat system is essentially lifted from the now dead D&D CMG.
The games are nice and light, wasn't a fan of the mechanic of spawning new areas where enemies just popped right out and smacked you right away. Seemed to discourage a person to explore since it was risky, but the game is designed around it I guess to create a form of "timer" on the whole thing.
The games are nice and light, wasn't a fan of the mechanic of spawning new areas where enemies just popped right out and smacked you right away. Seemed to discourage a person to explore since it was risky, but the game is designed around it I guess to create a form of "timer" on the whole thing.
Can someone tell me what size of parties Mascarade is good for?
Seems like too many people everyone will totally lose track which might be averse to the actual idea of the game. Or maybe it works perfectly, I don't know. That's why I'm asking. And how would you judge it compared to Avalon/Resistance?
Seems like too many people everyone will totally lose track which might be averse to the actual idea of the game. Or maybe it works perfectly, I don't know. That's why I'm asking.
And how would you judge it compared to Avalon/Resistance?BattleMonkey
Member
The more the better for Masquerade
Can someone tell me what size of parties Mascarade is good for?
Seems like too many people everyone will totally lose track which might be averse to the actual idea of the game. Or maybe it works perfectly, I don't know. That's why I'm asking.
Agreed with BM, more is definitely better. Everyone remembering what everyone else's roles are (easier to figure out with less) makes for a boring game.
It's, IMO, a touch lighter than Avalon.
timetokill
Banned
Can someone tell me what size of parties Mascarade is good for?
Seems like too many people everyone will totally lose track which might be averse to the actual idea of the game. Or maybe it works perfectly, I don't know. That's why I'm asking.
We played it with 5 and it was great, but I definitely think it would be even better with more people. I would put 5 as the minimum, honestly.
After reading the mixed impressions on Rampage and then playing it myself, I can confidently say that Bauza just gets me. Game is great even though I can see some nerds not liking it. At first it's mostly smashy-smash but then it becomes much more tactical and skill-based as you go for the meeple colors you need to complete your sets. All the different types of actions seem to do destruction in their own ways:
-Dropping on a building is hugely destructive (and will get you floors for a few token points) but you can't be guaranteed that the meeples will fall into your neighborhood where they need to be for you to eat them. You'll get a few points but might help out others and might even hurt yourself if you lose too many meeples off the board and trigger their negative effects.
-Blowing I've heard is underpowered but it was quite interesting in our game. I actually blew down two monsters in one shot. We house ruled that you can stand when blowing because otherwise if you have a normal table it's almost impossible to ever get into a position where you can blow.
-Moving and flicking the vehicles are my favorite because they demand the most skill but they're much more surgical strikes than the other two generally.
My only nit is hiding meeples you captured behind your "mouth" (screen) even though capturing is totally public. Don't like memory bonuses so I will probably house rule this out unless I'm playing with a really casual group.
-Dropping on a building is hugely destructive (and will get you floors for a few token points) but you can't be guaranteed that the meeples will fall into your neighborhood where they need to be for you to eat them. You'll get a few points but might help out others and might even hurt yourself if you lose too many meeples off the board and trigger their negative effects.
-Blowing I've heard is underpowered but it was quite interesting in our game. I actually blew down two monsters in one shot. We house ruled that you can stand when blowing because otherwise if you have a normal table it's almost impossible to ever get into a position where you can blow.
-Moving and flicking the vehicles are my favorite because they demand the most skill but they're much more surgical strikes than the other two generally.
My only nit is hiding meeples you captured behind your "mouth" (screen) even though capturing is totally public. Don't like memory bonuses so I will probably house rule this out unless I'm playing with a really casual group.
BattleMonkey
Member
Problem with blowing to me is that it requires a just the right size table. Both tables we have had played on, players could not properly reach the figs for blowing while seated.
I don't think it would really work well on any size table, which is why we do away with the seated requirement for blowing. Doesn't really feel cheap at all as blowing is still very situational, though at least now you can use it occasionally.
The Dice Tower have their 24hr gaming stream on right now for those who are interested.
I don't know how to paste links on this thing so Google "The Dice Tower YouTube" and go to videos and instead of uploads, drop down to events. There may be a live option, not sure.
Edit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9dn4cPqYKY
I don't know how to paste links on this thing so Google "The Dice Tower YouTube" and go to videos and instead of uploads, drop down to events. There may be a live option, not sure.
Edit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9dn4cPqYKY
This is bizarre as hell because these guys are in my gaming group and I feel like I'm watching my game nights through the internet
Can someone tell me what size of parties Mascarade is good for?
Seems like too many people everyone will totally lose track which might be averse to the actual idea of the game. Or maybe it works perfectly, I don't know. That's why I'm asking.
The game changes a bit depending on the number of players. 8+ lets you start using some of the other roles, introducing some new gameplay bits. Less than 6 players, you need to leave some cards on the table that can be swapped with, but don't have a player attached to them, again altering the gameplay a little (because there isn't a person on the other end of that card)
I'd say that it's pretty common for there to be the one person in the game who is like "how are we supposed to keep track of the cards, this is dumb/weird". Try to explain that the point isn't to keep track of all the cards at all times, because anyone with an average memory will simply forget the cards, and that's intentional (and funny)...but explain it like more of a short term task to learn what a card is and make a play with that by their next turn / stop others from making a play with it.
Also, the game is not like Avalon/Resistance at all
What # was your order? Still waiting on confirmation here.
SillyEskimo
Member
I primed a selection of walker zombies from Zombicide. Four regular, 1 berserker, and 1 toxic. I'll play with color schemes tomorrow and post the results. I have a couple of ideas but need to see if they actually work on the miniatures!
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