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[StoOgE]

I won a copy of Dominant Species at BGG. Will report as soon as I play.

That was awesome. I've heard only good things from my normal gaming group who have played it.

Didn't you get Labyrinth and Twilight Struggle as well?

 

[fenners]

I won a copy of Dominant Species at BGG. Will report as soon as I play.

I played it at BGG. Loved it. Absolutely loved it. It's a mix of area control & worker placement. Hard brutal game where every decision is important.

 

[Chorazin]

Yeah it is pretty cool. The only bummer about it is open gaming space is somewhat limited (the rooms they have for it are pretty big but they just fill up) and it's only three days! .

At least they are moving to a much bigger venue for 2011, so that should help with the space issues.

 

[fenners]

At least they are moving to a much bigger venue for 2011, so that should help with the space issues.

2012. Same venue next year.

 

[AstroLad]

It's a miniature war game, they are just trying to market/package it differently as to try and appeal to board gamers or to get in those players afraid of wargame collecting/hobby aspects. So they break it down into bite sized portions with multiple 2 player boxed expansions.

Yeah I think the difficulty for us was that we got together at 9 or something and though we both knew the core rules very well, we hadn't previously played. We were very deliberate in walking through every unit in our armies and each unit's abilities, but by the time we were done with all that it was already 10:30 or so and neither of us had eaten dinner yet. Ideally I think we would have met up in the morning or early afternoon, grinded through the rules and abilities for a couple hours, then been able to play a game comfortably.

I read the rules again on the flight back and I'm watching a long tutorial video so I'd say I'm about 95% comfortable with the game right now. Only difficulty is getting someone else to the 80% area. It's a game that's not really suited for a regular boardgaming group since it's 2P and takes a long time to teach and while my wife said she would happily learn it I don't know if I'm sadistic enough to subject her to that. :lol I will probably try though. Then I've got some family and friends coming in at various points over the next two months and I will definitely try to play with them. It is a collectible mini game, and it shouldn't have to apologize for that, but since I'm not the type to wander into game stores, well, ever (that would cut into my limited weekend gaming time and frankly I just feel out of place at most of those places) the nature of the game and its mechanics do pose some interesting problems.

The bits are mostly gorgeous though (except for the damn poster maps -- which I understand probably reduce costs by roughly a kajillion dollars) -- and I do actually think the gameplay is quite cool and the characters of the various figures are well represented in the mechanics, which is always nice. So I will hang on to my now pretty big armies for at least that long unless my first few real playthroughs are just total busts. If my wife likes it then superbonus but that's unlikely as she often gets aggravated at M44 of all games (not for the complexity but because she hates direct conflict, especially 1v1).

 

[Flynn]

That was awesome. I've heard only good things from my normal gaming group who have played it.

Didn't you get Labyrinth and Twilight Struggle as well?

It was Twilight Struggle and Leaping Lemmings.

 

[Flynn]

Read about Dixit on wired's geek gift guide. Any impressions? Seems interesting enough.

There's an expansion that adds new cards if you're worried about freshness.

 

[AstroLad]

I was actually just reading through the Labyrinth rules today (copy arrived in the mail while I was at BGG). Looking forward to trying it out; at the moment it really does seem like a reskinned Twilight Struggle with lots of new mechanics and a bit of added complexity so certainly no complaints from me yet.

Should have tried to learn it at the Con! as it was fairly ubiquitous. But Le Havre and maybe MonPoc will keep us busy enough on the 2P front for a while anyway. I've had Le Havre on the brain since we played it. :lol

 

[Chorazin]

2012. Same venue next year.

Someone needs to check the PAX East site again.

 

[StoOgE]

I've had Le Havre on the brain since we played it. :lol

It's a great game.

Gric is at the top of my Christmas list right now as well. I think it's a perfect introduction to Le Havre. Similar mechanics, but a little easier to visualize your goals with the farm in front of you and less choices to make.

After playing both, they are sort of opposite games. Agricola has limited choices but many actions you can take. Le Havre has a ton of choices but very limited actions to take. Very similar, but the scarcity is the exact opposite.

I need to get my hands on Richard III, Civ and 7 Wonders as well.

Should have tried to learn it at the Con! as it was fairly ubiquitous.

The library only had 1 copy actually. All of the people playing it, Dominant Species and Civilization were playing their own copies. The only copies in the library for those were camped out in the Essen room on permanent set up. Same with 7 wonders.

 

[StoOgE]

It was Twilight Struggle and Leaping Lemmings.

Ah, still a good haul (I assume you already have TS though). I've heard good stuff about Leaping Lemmings.. though it is strange to see GMT make a paper map hex based family game :lol

 

[fenners]

Someone needs to check the PAX East site again.

We were talking about BGG.Con.

 

[AstroLad]

Going to clear out some space in the game closet for new releases, so these will be going up on ebay tomorrowish unless someone else wants first dibs. U.S.-only is probably better w/r/t shipping costs unless you don't mind. All U.S. editions. All in excellent condition except Survive which I got used which is probably in VG condition or thereabouts.

Survive (1982 edition)
Puerto Rico
Twilight Struggle (2nd Edition (non-deluxe))
Formula D and several of the original compatible Formula De expansions you can ask me about if you are a big Formula D fan
BattleLore (think this is unpunched; it's certainly unplayed)
Betrayal at House on the Hill (2004 edition) (in shrink)
Elk Fest
FITS
For the People (in shrink)
Monsters Menace America
Small World
A Touch of Evil

 

[Chorazin]

We were talking about BGG.Con.

No.

I responded to Astrolad, who responded to my comment about PAX East. He stated he didn't like how limited the space was, and I responded they are moving to a new location. Then you thought we were talking about BGG.com, but we weren't.

 

[AstroLad]

I like the Westin but that is cool they're branching out for 2012. Would love to see BGG.Con continue to grow as it's an awesome con.

PAX East definitely needs the expansion bad. The lines for almost all the events were pretty insane and the gaming space was really tight even though we were almost always able to find some area to sit down and play. I'm guessing just having more auditorium space will free up space elsewhere as conventiongoers will no longer have to resort to their second or third choice of hitting up boardgaming if they just want to attend events (which to Pax's credit they have a ton of awesome ones even if we didn't go to any ).

I have to travel for work in February and then a wedding in Switzerland in April so it's going to be tough but we'll do our best, especially if several BG gaffers are going.

 

[AstroLad]

Browsing through the BGG rules forums (which I'm obsessive about doing in my initial learning stages -- I like to get to the point where I can answer the questions without consulting the rest of the thread) I saw this recommended rule for Le Havre, which I think I'll be using since I'll usually be playing with 2-3:

Uwe explains that only very strong players will see this or take advantage of it, and it is a bigger problem for fewer player counts. (He also mentions something like "maybe this was a mistake." But I dont want to put words in his mouth, listen to the interview.)

Anyway, finally he mentions that in future editions, an "expert rule" will be added: For an X player game, if you have X loans or more, you must pay 2 francs for interest.

http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/456411/rules-tweak-for-loans-in-newer-editions-from-uwe

 

[StoOgE]

Betrayal at House on the Hill

Ha!

After our play I decided to take it off of my wishlist that night. Not sure why I liked it so much the first time I played it other than it being Halloween and me being drunk.

Me being drunk probably helped a lot actually.

 

[StoOgE]

Also, I think there is a lot of confusion.

Pax East = moving to larger location in 2010
BGG Con = going nowhere.

The library lives in the Dallas area and I don't see the Con being profitable if they had to lug that thing around. Also, I need to find where it is and do some Ocean's 11 style heist on it. :lol

 

[AstroLad]

Ha!

After our play I decided to take it off of my wishlist that night. Not sure why I liked it so much the first time I played it other than it being Halloween and me being drunk.

Yeah it does seem like a fun party game but I got that sealed copy right before the prices shot up and have had it for years now. I may pick up the new one (with the ugly box) in the future, but Survive! and TS are the only two I'll be upgrading in my 7 Wonders order.

 

[StoOgE]

Yeah it does seem like a fun party game but I got that sealed copy right before the prices shot up and have had it for years now. I may pick up the new one (with the ugly box) in the future, but Survive! and TS are the only two I'll be upgrading in my 7 Wonders order.

regretting not pulling the trigger on the 100 dollar sale a year or two ago?

 

[AstroLad]

What's funny is I never sell stuff online and never really buy hobby stuff as a pseudo-investment, but that was just a confluence of circumstances and now here I am with about 20 games to sell for various reasons.

 

[StoOgE]

What's funny is I never sell stuff online and never really buy hobby stuff as a pseudo-investment, but that was just a confluence of circumstances and now here I am with about 20 games to sell for various reasons.

Yeah, I don't buy games as an investment per se and wouldn't ever sell a game I really really liked no matter how crazy the prices got. But I work in finance which makes it hard not to analyze oppurtunity cost.

That's why Star Wars and Heroquest bit the dust. I could keep them and have two games that were fun, but not my normal bag or I could sell them and pick up 4-5 games that were more my type that I would play more. So they both ate it.

That and I'm trying to whittle my collection down to games I actually want to play. I owned too many games that other people liked or I just sort of liked. I'm trying to pare down my collection to stuff I would play whenever anyone asked.

That said, I'm trying to find a way to get Princes of the Renaissance into my collection. It's that Martin Wallace game I played that has been OOP for a while and was just fantastic. Anytime I can get a Wallace game without giving FRED any of my money is a double bonus.

 

[fenners]

No.

I responded to Astrolad, who responded to my comment about PAX East. He stated he didn't like how limited the space was, and I responded they are moving to a new location. Then you thought we were talking about BGG.com, but we weren't.

Doh! Totally my mistake.

Anyway, BGG.Con is moving in 2012 too, likely to a much bigger location nearer the airport.

 

[Flynn]

Ah, still a good haul (I assume you already have TS though). I've heard good stuff about Leaping Lemmings.. though it is strange to see GMT make a paper map hex based family game :lol

Funnily, my collection isn't all that big. I've always had the benefit of being friends with big collectors. So the nice edition of Twilight Struggle is a good addition.

 

[Chorazin]

Doh! Totally my mistake.

Anyway, BGG.Con is moving in 2012 too, likely to a much bigger location nearer the airport.

No problem. I'm glad we resolved the confusion!

 

[AstroLad]

Just since we have a serious lack of BGG.Con pics in here, here is the conclusion of our 5P Agricola game with our group and Stooge:

 

[Chairhome]

It's a strong, noob-friendly party game, which allows for more creativity than something like Apples to Apples. I'd strongly recommend you play w/ 4-6 players.

I've played it about 10 times with several different groups, with ages ranging from 8 to 68. It's gone over pretty well with everyone, although there are definite non-creative types who have a hard time when they are in the storyteller role... either they give a clue that's way too obvious or get flustered by the proposition. Still, it's a great game, that doesn't feel very competitive, even though there's a score track. I have the Dixit 2 expansion cards, so it never has felt stale to me, but some people suggest that the cards do eventually become overfamiliar.

It's probably a game that is best served by being something you play once or twice and then put away until another day, rather than something you play over and over again for hours. Everyone finds the artwork pretty enchanting though... It's simply a fun game to look at and there's a sense of discovery in what cards are going to show up next. If you get it, do yourself a favor, and don't look at the cards until you play.

http://boardgameguy.com/product_images/k/dixit_contents__09273.jpg[IMG][/QUOTE]
Thanks. I might pick it up for some play sessions during the holidays. I appreciate the impressions!

 

[AstroLad]

Flynn I saw you were playing Formula D at BGG.Con. What do you think about the game? I'm finally giving up on it after giving it the old college try. The problem is you need a solid 5+. The game isn't all that complex, but it's also not necessarily super friendly to non-gamers either. When I have 5+ I'd just as well rather play one of my party games, or even Snow Tails which I find superior to Formula D for my purposes.

MonPoc Update:

Sooo I think I learned pretty much everything there is to know about MonPoc at this point for someone who hasn't actually played a game. Think what I'm going to do is collect all my armies, explain the rules, and then randomly assign armies and let people choose a monster within that army and accompanying units. The rules explanation itself is 20m at most, and the rest is all review of abilities.

The nice thing is though there are a lot of abilities, many of them repeat a lot, and others are merely slight tweaks of other abilities. So when you have two armies out there it's not the 50 abilities it feels like, but more like a base 10-15 not counting some of the wacky monsters.

Slowly but surely.

 

[BattleMonkey]

It's best to try to learn your own abilities that you will have on the field before you go to the game. Lot of them repeat within the same army so it's easy to remember. Don't bother trying to learn or remember all the abilities in the game as it's just not something anyone can really do. Most factions have a reference sheet that is just for that faction that you will want with you also.

Lot of it you just wont figure out and memorize till you have played several times.

 

[AstroLad]

I do have to go one step further than that though because I'm not playing at a game store with experienced people (thank goodness), but rather playing with family and friends and I have to teach them from scratch. I'm only playing with the starting six factions anyway so it's not that bad, outside of Shadow Sun which can get a bit tricky.

 

[BattleMonkey]

It's not easy true, it's also a game that helps to have someone familiar with it teach as it goes much faster then. The basics of the game go pretty quick, the powers/abilities you just don't teach and let players discover them as they play.

 

[AstroLad]

Yeah that's the nice thing is that the base mechanics are pretty simple and elegant. Only exception being maybe the power attacks, but even those aren't that bad after you go over them a couple times. I think it's going to be really easy to teach the mechanics especially now that I've familiarized myself with all the little subtleties of application of abilities and the attack phases.

 

[StoOgE]

Flynn I saw you were playing Formula D at BGG.Con. What do you think about the game? I'm finally giving up on it after giving it the old college try. The problem is you need a solid 5+. The game isn't all that complex, but it's also not necessarily super friendly to non-gamers either. When I have 5+ I'd just as well rather play one of my party games, or even Snow Tails which I find superior to Formula D for my purposes.

As someone who just bought the game I pretty much agree with this assesment. It isn't the easiest game to teach, you need a large group and it's just easier to play something like Balderdash or Time's Up.

Not to mention, if you have a bunch of Formula De maps you could sell them and finance several new games all at once since most of those are worth 50+ dollars.

 

[platypotamus]

Just since we have a serious lack of BGG.Con pics in here, here is the conclusion of our 5P Agricola game with our group and Stooge:

http://i.imgur.com/OiAYX.jpg

Blue win?

 

[StoOgE]

Blue win?

Blue would be Astrolad, and yes he won.

I was red. I came in 3rd I think just behind his wife in 2nd who was purple.

 

[platypotamus]

Totally want to play Agricola now. Kinda forgot how much space it takes up, could never play more than 2P on my table, haha

 

[AstroLad]

It was awesome playing 4 and 5p games. I think I sometimes get too wed to the concept of an "ideal" number, and have always gone along with Gric's ideal number being 3, but 4 and 5 really mixed things up a lot in a fun and novel way. For one, the Major Improvements got eaten up fast. They were all gone before I could even think about buying one. The new action spaces are really interesting too, like the one that lets you take an accumulating reed, as well as a stone and a wood. And then of course just playing with all the 4+ player cards.

And they didn't even take that long. Two new players on the first game, including my friend who has next to zero board game experience, and they took 2-3 hours each tops.

 

[joeyjoejoeshabadoo]

My gamble paid off and Amazon shipped my Civilation order today. I should get it by tomorrow so I'm super stoked.

 

[StoOgE]

My gamble paid off and Amazon shipped my Civilation order today. I should get it by tomorrow so I'm super stoked.

I was so mad when Funagain sold out of them at 45 dollars each at BGG-Con. I went back 3 times the next day to see if they got any back.

 

[StoOgE]

In somewhat shocking news Twilight Struggle has passed Agricola on the BGG big board and PR is not very far ahead at all. Could be a shakeup brewing at the top of the heap.

 

[joeyjoejoeshabadoo]

I was so mad when Funagain sold out of them at 45 dollars each at BGG-Con. I went back 3 times the next day to see if they got any back.

I got my copy for $37 with free 2-day shipping so that's the reason why I was so hesitant to cancel my pre-order.

In somewhat shocking news Twilight Struggle has passed Agricola on the BGG big board and PR is not very far ahead at all. Could be a shakeup brewing at the top of the heap.

It's an omen that you really need to break in your copy of TS.

I was reading through a thread about this the other day and it was definitely interesting to see the fur fly. All three of those games are freaking fantastic and in the end it really doesn't matter who gets the top spot, but, it's fun seeing the Euro gamers get heated though.

So is anybody doing any Thanksgiving gaming? Since I'm spending it with a decidedly non-gamer crowd, I'm planning on breaking out Wits and Wagers and Incan Gold. I introduced Incan Gold to the in-laws last night and they seemed to dig it.

 

[fenners]

So is anybody doing any Thanksgiving gaming? Since I'm spending it with a decidedly non-gamer crowd, I'm planning on breaking out Wits and Wagers and Incan Gold. I introduced Incan Gold to the in-laws last night and they seemed to dig it.

My parents are in town from Scotland, which means lots of Ticket To Ride & whatever I can persuade them to learn - likely Dragon Parade & Jamaica.

 

[StoOgE]

My Turkey day gaming will be nill.

I might play some stuff with my parents over the weekend. They are hooked on Power Grid at the moment. I want a break from it, but not them. They also like Carson City, but I played it at BGG-Con and am playing it again tonight with my normal gaming group so I might "forget" my copy of it this weekend :lol

I might also break out some of my new lighter games.. Modern Art, Aton, Hera and Zeus.. maybe Pitchcar and Formula De. I'm not ready to put Le Havre, Brass or Puerto Rico on them just yet.

 

[AstroLad]

My Turkey day gaming will be nill.

I might play some stuff with my parents. They are hooked on Power Grid at the moment. I want a break from it, but not them.

I might also break out some of my new lighter games.. Modern Art, Aton, Hera and Zeus.

Whoa whoa whoa that's messed up. I had a big deal come up that I'm just waiting to see if it will blow up now or after Thanksgiving BUT in any event, inspired by BGG we'll definitely be teaching and playing Le Havre to the gang, I'll be teaching my wife MonPoc yes MonPoc (probably Voltron since no buildings is just so much easier to deal with), doing a tutorial game of Labyrinth (just finished reading the manual yesterday), and after that who knows those are the only ones I'm dead-set on. Probably some Gric and Fresco.

(Not having any family over though; they're all coming for Christmas when I'll have two weeks with my folks and one week with folks+brother and we'll definitely be playing Gric, Le Havre, MonPoc, Dominion, Labyrinth, etc. Two years ago when we last all got together in Switzerland they fell madly in love with San Juan then RFTG. So much so that we played 50+ games over the week. Think Dominion might be the drug this time, but I'd like to mix things up a bit too since we'll be at our place and thus have access to the full library.)

 

[StoOgE]

My family on my mothers side (who I will be spending Turkey day with thanks to geography) has a grand total of 2 people not in my nuclear family with high school diplomas and 3 people who have done at least 5 years in jail.

They aren't exactly my type of people or people I want to play economic engine games with.

Xmas will be with the girlfriends family.. which means board games out the ass. At least 4 of the siblings have played and enjoy Agricola.. which means I have a green light to bring whatever I want.

 

[platypotamus]

I was reading through a thread about this the other day and it was definitely interesting to see the fur fly. All three of those games are freaking fantastic and in the end it really doesn't matter who gets the top spot, but, it's fun seeing the Euro gamers get heated though.

It was a good read. I can't believe how many people are ready to dismiss TS instantly (without ever even playing it) because it has dice. So ludicrous.

 

[AstroLad]

That's funny I think TS is kind of eurogamey in ways. Campaign Manager is that system taken to a eurogamey extreme. The only issue I have with TS is that you're at an insurmountable disadvantage if you don't know all the cards, making play with people of a very similar skill level almost a necessity unless you just want to play it for one-off novelty with people.

I haven't read that thread but the dice thing is funny because they're such a tiny part of TS. I guess they could swing things certainly but it's not like you're running five checks every turn.

 

[Unison]

Games I am bringing to play with my family over Thanksgiving:

Animal Upon Animal
Apples to Apples
Bang
Baron Munchausen
Betrayal at House on the Hill
Bisicle / Roadzters
Bohnanza
Botswana
The Castle of the Devil
Circus Flohcati
Cleopatra and the Society of Architects
Coloretto
Dixit
Dungeonquest
Excape
For Sale
High Society
Incan Gold
Jungle Speed
Kingsburg
Last Night on Earth
Liar's Dice
Livingstone
Magical Athlete
Mamma Mia!
Money
No Thanks!
Pickomino
Pit
Saboteur
Slide 5
Snorta
Telestrations
Ticket to Ride + 1910 Exp.
Time's Up Title Recall
Villa Paletti
Zombie Dice

With family visits like this, who needs conventions? :lol

 

[Flynn]

Flynn I saw you were playing Formula D at BGG.Con. What do you think about the game? I'm finally giving up on it after giving it the old college try. The problem is you need a solid 5+. The game isn't all that complex, but it's also not necessarily super friendly to non-gamers either. When I have 5+ I'd just as well rather play one of my party games, or even Snow Tails which I find superior to Formula D for my purposes.

It was just okay. I felt like it needs to be played with way more cars to be interesting. I bet if each player was responsible for two vehicles it would way more fun. The best part of the game, really is the cornering. Its where you make the toughest decisions and deal with the biggest consequences. I don't see how anyone would want to play two laps though.

Not sure if its the kind of game I'll want to play again. But it does make a good, fairly light-weight (in comparison) break between days of playing games with complex economies. You just roll dice move and repeat.

 

[AstroLad]

It was just okay. I felt like it needs to be played with way more cars to be interesting. I bet if each player was responsible for two vehicles it would way more fun. The best part of the game, really is the cornering. Its where you make the toughest decisions and deal with the biggest consequences. I don't see how anyone would want to play two laps though.

Not sure if its the kind of game I'll want to play again. But it does make a good, fairly light-weight (in comparison) break between days of playing games with complex economies. You just roll dice move and repeat.

Yep this is why I like Snow Tails better. It sort of compresses everything down to a nice small track, introduces on-track obstacles, and is smaller so plays well with 3-4, unlike Formula D which requires a minimum of 5.