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[Vinci]

How is Agricola with 2 players? As fun as with more? While I play often with the full group, there are times when it's just my wife and I.

And how are Stone Age's mechanics from a conflict standpoint?

Right now, I think I might be leaning towards Agricola and Dominion, but I'm open to Stone Age if it's not as conflict-based as Carson City.

 

[StoOgE]

I haven't played Stone Age. Agricola is generally considered to be a better game and has less luck. Learning curve is a bit steeper than your other games, but is certainly teachable in 30 minutes. Slightly more complicated than Puerto Rico. If you are willing to get past those issues of Agricola, I would probably write off Stone Age in it's favor.

Astrolad can weigh in on the 2p.

Dominion works very well with 2p.

 

[Vinci]

I haven't played Stone Age. Agricola is generally considered to be a better game and has less luck. Learning curve is a bit steeper than your other games, but is certainly teachable in 30 minutes. Slightly more complicated than Puerto Rico. If you are willing to get past those issues of Agricola, I would probably write off Stone Age in it's favor.

Astrolad can weigh in on the 2p.

Dominion works very well with 2p.

Thanks for the help, Stooge. Right now, I'm definitely leaning towards Agricola. How different is it from Puerto Rico, though? I mean, not only in terms of complexity, but in how it feels to play? Substantially different, or more like the next logical step beyond?

 

[AstroLad]

Thanks for the help, Stooge. Right now, I'm definitely leaning towards Agricola. How different is it from Puerto Rico, though? I mean, not only in terms of complexity, but in how it feels to play? Substantially different, or more like the next logical step beyond?

I have a relevant link for you on this point as well: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/446986/agricola-vs-puerto-rico-the-ultimate-show-down (Read the first post too for a couple counterpoints.)

 

[Vinci]

I have a relevant link for you on this point as well: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/446986/agricola-vs-puerto-rico-the-ultimate-show-down (Read the first post too for a couple counterpoints.)

Damn, thanks Astrolad! That's really helpful. Lots of conflicting points in that thread, though. Some people are arguing one is easier than the other; others argue the reverse. Think I might just go with Agricola since it's such a must-have - and what will be will be. At least I won't be paying for it.

The fact that it can also cover the whole group is really a big selling point.

Thanks, everyone, for the suggestions! I really appreciate it.

Beyond the link Astrolad posted, I will say they are substantially different games in their mechanics, but share the idea of building something (in this case a farm).

I don't see a ton of similarity between the two games.

Awesome. Should work well then. Hopefully we can expand to other, more conflict-based games in the future. My wife and I are moving middle of next year, so we'll have to find a new group to game with. Which sucks, but... oh well, here's hoping we're able to make friends that know how to game.

 

[StoOgE]

Thanks for the help, Stooge. Right now, I'm definitely leaning towards Agricola. How different is it from Puerto Rico, though? I mean, not only in terms of complexity, but in how it feels to play? Substantially different, or more like the next logical step beyond?

Beyond the link Astrolad posted, I will say they are substantially different games in their mechanics, but share the idea of building something (in this case a farm).

I don't see a ton of similarity between the two games.

 

[Vinci]

There's enough that his friend might still get bitchy. "You bastard, you bought a Witch and ruined my whole game!"

Seriously, that bastard has bitched and moaned for an entire game before and ended up winning. I mean, I can understand being frustrated if you've fallen far behind and there's virtually no way out of your predicament and you've upwards of an hour left to suffer through it - but when you're actually doing well?

 

[StoOgE]

Seriously, that bastard has bitched and moaned for an entire game before and ended up winning. I mean, I can understand being frustrated if you've fallen far behind and there's virtually no way out of your predicament and you've upwards of an hour left to suffer through it - but when you're actually doing well?

sounds like you should be looking for games that play 2-4p. :lol

 

[joeyjoejoeshabadoo]

Agricola with two is not bad at all and very playable. The game scales quite nicely with the only real difference is that you won't be too hard up to do what you want.

 

[Vinci]

sounds like you should be looking for games that play 2-4p. :lol

Believe me, the thought has occurred. But given he's married to my wife's best friend, who's actually an awesome person to play games with, it's sort of hard to avoid at this point. The thing is, he's otherwise a nice guy - but once things get competitive, in video games or board games, he just turns into an ass.

EDIT, @ Mashing: Get Catan. I'm serious. That game's impossible to 'not get,' and it's fun as hell. Carcassone would be a good choice also.

 

[Mashing]

Man, all of these games look incredibly fun, but I have no SO and I'm not sure my immediate family would enjoy these games or even be able to pick up on the mechanics. Even the gateway games look too complicated (there used to to crappy parker brother games) for them. For me, this shit is right up my alley.

 

[StoOgE]

Man, all of these games look incredibly fun, but I have no SO and I'm not sure my immediate family would enjoy these games or even be able to pick up on the mechanics. Even the gateway games look too complicated (there used to to crappy parker brother games) for them. For me, this shit is right up my alley.

The gateway games listed are all pretty straightforward. None are any more complicated than Monopoly is, but several (Dominion, Ticket to Ride) are much simpler games despite being much better.

 

[Flynn]

I'll share my group's horror story from this weekend. Our "theme" guy brought a print and play version of Dune and pushed it on us all day, despite the fact that most of us kind of balked and walked a way whenever he suggested it.

When somebody finally bit and said they'd play it with him he said that playing with two, or even three was "unacceptable." It had to be five.

It was as this point that I lost any and all sympathy for him. If you want to play a game that bad you'll graciously accept those who volunteer. But he got greedy.

Still, he didn't get the clue.

He set up the game and bowed out of several other games because he thought that suddenly people were going to change their minds and play with him. At one point he volunteered to help us clean up a game at the main table so he could slip Dune in front of us.

I had to spell it out for him and tell him that he shouldn't turn down chances to play Dune, even with two, because the likelihood of this group succumbing to him is very, very slim.

The funny thing is that I'm kinda curious about dune. It's just the way that the guy pushes this stuff down our throats that really rubs me the wrong way. He's not a fun guy to learn a game from and he's especially no fun to teach.

 

[StoOgE]

I think all game groups need to get on Meet Up.

Mine uses it and it is amazing. Granted, it's a pretty large pool of gamers ,but it is awesome to be able to post a game you want to play, when you want to play it and see who signs up for it.

Granted, you can always be sure at least 1-2 people will no show on you, but it still tells you if it's a game you should bring.

 

[Ferrio]

So where's some places to buy games online? Trying to buy The Climbers, but the store on amazon doesn't ship to Alaska. Might need several places just incase more of them don't ship up here.

 

[BomberMouse]

So where's some places to buy games online? Trying to buy The Climbers, but the store on amazon doesn't ship to Alaska. Might need several places just incase more of them don't ship up here.

I bought mine here, they ship worldwide. I can also recommend minituremarket.com.

 

[choodi]

My Christmas present to myself just shipped! Found a bunch of games on sale and put in an order...

Citadels
Bohnanza
Carcassone
Battle Line
Roborally
Forbidden Island (bought for a friend)

My group is pretty casual and most have only ever played catan...hence I have rarely played anything but catan.

My hope is that I will be able to convince them to branch out with something like Roborally or Carcassone and then to move them on to something a little more complicated.

Any opinions on these games and suggested playing order from most to least casual?

 

[StoOgE]

Citadels
Bohnanza
Carcassone
Battle Line
Roborally
Forbidden Island (bought for a friend)

That is a really solid line up of games. I don't know that any are relaly more complicated than the others, they are all fairly light games.

I've never played Bohanza, but have heard it is very hit or miss.

 

[AstroLad]

Most to Least Casual:
Carcassone (easiest by far)
Forbidden Island (easy co-op)
Bohnanza (this is a very hit-or-miss game though)
Battle Line (simple but intense 2P)
Roborally (zany racin fun, probably the most complex rules-wise but supports up to 8)
Citadels (modestly complex with the building and having to learn all the roles but the perfect backstab game)

 

[Unison]

My Christmas present to myself just shipped! Found a bunch of games on sale and put in an order...

Citadels
Bohnanza
Carcassone
Battle Line
Roborally
Forbidden Island (bought for a friend)

My group is pretty casual and most have only ever played catan...hence I have rarely played anything but catan.

My hope is that I will be able to convince them to branch out with something like Roborally or Carcassone and then to move them on to something a little more complicated.

Any opinions on these games and suggested playing order from most to least casual?

Great choices...

I don't think anything will throw even a casual group here... Forbidden Island is probably the best to start with because it's co-operative (also, you can play single-player to get the rules down).

Battle Line & Carcassone are the next easiest, imo. Battle Line is strategic, but it's rules-light... Carcassone's scoring sometimes confuses people, but that's the only hurdle there. Bohnanza & Citadels are a step up from there... Bohnanza is simple but slightly counter-intuitive (I printed some small player aids out from Board Game Geek for that game, which help when teaching it). Citadels is not complex, but most people won't grasp the roles until they play a round or two, even if the powers are written on the cards.

Robo Rally isn't difficult, so much as it's a much longer game. I'd save this one for last and make sure you play it with a relatively small course the first few times.

Have fun!

 

[StoOgE]

So, all of the talk of Dominion today made me realize I still don't own a single Dominion expansion.

I've played Seaside and was always turned off because it adds little bits to the game and boards.. and I prefer the idea of the game staying purely card driven.

I know intrigue isn't thought of as highly as Seaside or Prosperity, but I think I'll have to pick it up soonish. Or I might go nuts and pull the trigger on all 3 post Xmas depending on what my Xmas haul looks like.

I also think they missed the boat a bit with prosperity. They should have allowed potions from Alchemy to reduce the cost of certain cards in the prosperity deck. Would have made it possible to better integrate alchemy without being forced to use 25% of the alchemy deck in any given play.

 

[AstroLad]

seaside is sooooo much better though

 

[platypotamus]

Dominion caps at 4p though unless you buy Intrigue as well.

Maybe you could tell us what it is your group likes or doesn't like about the games it's played?

So does Stone Age

How is Agricola with 2 players? As fun as with more? While I play often with the full group, there are times when it's just my wife and I.

And how are Stone Age's mechanics from a conflict standpoint?

Right now, I think I might be leaning towards Agricola and Dominion, but I'm open to Stone Age if it's not as conflict-based as Carson City.

Agricola is great 2P. It's actually great solitaire too, probably the best game I have played Solitaire. Yeah, that's right, I play solo sometimes.

Stone Age is very conflict light. Basically just get conflict from the worker placement mechanic, but to a smaller degree than Puerto Rico.

...

Anyway, I know I'm getting to this particular discussion late, but just as a suggestion no one else mentioned (because it's an older game and we're all obsessed with the newest hotness): El Grande is a great 2-5 player option. Sort of a quasi-auction based area control game. I played it for the first time in a long time lately, and want to see it more often now.

The gateway games listed are all pretty straightforward. None are any more complicated than Monopoly is, but several (Dominion, Ticket to Ride) are much simpler games despite being much better.

This. I've played Ticket to Ride with my Soviet refugee mother-in-law, and she had a great time. She doesn't play things much more complex than poker, and she's a total newb at that. Also: Consider some of the lighter cooperative games as a potential in for people. I think Pandemic can kinda work as a gateway, and playing with each other rather than against each other gives it perhaps a lower barrier of entry to some folks who might be intimidated by the games.

 

[StoOgE]

seaside is sooooo much better though

Is Seaside still better than prosperity?

I don't know. I'll have to see what Santa brings. If I get a large number of games off my wishlist I may go in for 2 or 3 of them.

 

[AstroLad]

Is Seaside still better than prosperity?

So far I wouldy say yes but I think BGG favors Prosperity 65/35. Intrigue may be good for your purposes though i.e. if you don't want bits.

 

[Flynn]

Anybody else bite on 7 Wonders? Just pre-ordered from Cardhaus. Sounds like we might be getting the game sooner rather than later.

 

[AstroLad]

yeah i think it's out or coming out. i have it in a pre-order at CSI but i'm going to be patient on that pre-order, which means allowing gric: the goodies, gric: tannenbaum deck, and merchants and marauders to come out. so probably jan.
(likely going to dump merchants & marauders for something else but we'll see)

 

[Merino]

Looking forward to the Ducosim-con (dutch game association) this weekend.
As far as I can tell most Essen games will be sold over there (including the more limited stuff like Troyes). I'm aiming to get most of the following;
- Civ
- Troyes
- 7 Wonders
- London
- Agricola Goodies
- Washington's War
- Era of Inventions

plus any heavily discounted games (The Dutch versionof Goa is going for around 10 euro's everywhere at the moment).

I think with these pickups and all other christmas presents that have been bought already my collection is finally beginning to take some serious shape.

I also read they are doing demo games of Battlestar Galactica which will be perfect opportunity to see if I should jump the fence on that one. All my friends are really into the series so that's a definite plus but I've got none experience myself with coop or traitor based games. Not sure how much I dig those mechanics yet.

 

[StoOgE]

Anybody else bite on 7 Wonders? Just pre-ordered from Cardhaus. Sounds like we might be getting the game sooner rather than later.

some people have had it ship from CSI and a few people in Florida confirmed some copies made it to the B&M store.

I think this is a smallish first shipment with the big boy to follow (similar to Prosperity.. expect it to be impossible to get for a month, and then extremely easy)

 

[Neverfade]

Played Tribune last night (sans expansion for first play) and enjoyed. Simple game and a lot going on. Played pretty fast, too.

 

[fenners]

some people have had it ship from CSI and a few people in Florida confirmed some copies made it to the B&M store.

I think this is a smallish first shipment with the big boy to follow (similar to Prosperity.. expect it to be impossible to get for a month, and then extremely easy)

It's completely undershipped & oversold by the distributor. Rogue's Gallery ordered a bunch & got in one copy.

 

[joeyjoejoeshabadoo]

Did anybody see that they are going to release a version of Bang! for the PC and iDevices?
http://www.bangvideogame.com/

I like the art and if the online play is solid it could be worth a purchase.

 

[Mashing]

So, I'm going to order Dominion + seaside and prosperity expansions. This will be my first boardgame purchase. I just hope I can get someone to play it with. Shouldn't be a problem though as it appears to be a quick game (and I'll probably just play base starting out). Hopefully my OCD collectors mentality doesn't kick in and I just start buying games to look good on my shelf.

Edit: Should I order sleeves as well or are they just a waste of money at this point?

 

[StoOgE]

It's completely undershipped & oversold by the distributor. Rogue's Gallery ordered a bunch & got in one copy.

so, should I feel safe putting through a CSI order and not worrying about it hitting my bank account pre-Xmas?

 

[StoOgE]

Did anybody see that they are going to release a version of Bang! for the PC and iDevices?
http://www.bangvideogame.com/

I like the art and if the online play is solid it could be worth a purchase.

Bang is a game that needs to be played in person. It has a lot of "reading" your opponent going on trying to figure out who they are.

 

[XiaNaphryz]

so, should I feel safe putting through a CSI order and not worrying about it hitting my bank account pre-Xmas?

Most likely. I put in a pre-order with TH back in October, dunno if I'll be able to make the first shipment cut or not.

 

[joeyjoejoeshabadoo]

so, should I feel safe putting through a CSI order and not worrying about it hitting my bank account pre-Xmas?

Doesn't CSI charge your card for pre-orders?

 

[StoOgE]

Doesn't CSI charge your card for pre-orders?

Don't know, I've never done a pre-order before.

I'm just going to hold off until after Xmas anyway. It's stupid to put together an order I might have to change based on what I get for Xmas.. and in the event that they do get 7 wonders in and it ships I might be stuck with two copies of the same game... I always buy stuff right before Xmas and wind up torpedoing someone's gift so I'm going to hold off 2 weeks.

I will buy the following if I don't get them for Xmas:
7 Wonders (not on Xmas list)
Agricola
Civilization
Richard III
Dominion Expansion to be named later (not on Xmas list) - leaning towards Seaside or Prosperity just because.

Depending on what I get off of the Xmas list I may add more Dominion expansions.

 

[StoOgE]

Most likely. I put in a pre-order with TH back in October, dunno if I'll be able to make the first shipment cut or not.

speak of the devil, CSI now lists it as out of stock.

 

[Mr. Lemming]

CSI charges your card when you order, not when the item ships.

 

[StoOgE]

CSI charges your card when you order, not when the item ships.

well that is stupid.

So you either eat shipping or have to pay for a 100 dollar order that will ship whenever.

 

[BattleMonkey]

Doesn't the site clearly tell you if an item is in stock?

 

[StoOgE]

Doesn't the site clearly tell you if an item is in stock?

yes, but most web sites don't charge you until the order ships for pre-orders. I guess CSI is trying to avoid people cancelling after they have committed to stock.

 

[AstroLad]

it might also be because they actually physically set the items in your order aside once available. that way you can actually pre-order a hot item but have it in a larger set and actually get it (this happened to me with prosperity). of course you can always change your order too

 

[StoOgE]

Ouch.

15 dollars for my 35 dollar Monpoc set.

 

[AstroLad]

Shoulda held onto it -- only eleven more months until we can give it another go at BGG.Con!

 

[platypotamus]

It's completely undershipped & oversold by the distributor. Rogue's Gallery ordered a bunch & got in one copy.

This must be the present my sister was hinting she wanted to get me but it was sold out everywhere in America. Bummer for me

Edit: Should I order sleeves as well or are they just a waste of money at this point?

I think they're more a waste of time than a waste of money. Just one of those boxes you ordered has probably 400 cards in it. I never sleeve any of my games.

 

[AstroLad]

So, I'm going to order Dominion + seaside and prosperity expansions. This will be my first boardgame purchase. I just hope I can get someone to play it with. Shouldn't be a problem though as it appears to be a quick game (and I'll probably just play base starting out). Hopefully my OCD collectors mentality doesn't kick in and I just start buying games to look good on my shelf.

Edit: Should I order sleeves as well or are they just a waste of money at this point?

Congrats should be fun. Just start out slowly with base and then work your way through the expansions once you have at least 10 or so games of base under your belt (thankfully you can play several games in one sitting).

Your question is a huge topic of debate and I suppose a matter of opinion. I like platy am on the side against sleeving. I don't like the feel of sleeves, I don't like shuffling them, and I don't like the thought of spending time sleeving cards and generally I feel they are a waste for me when I consider the benefit and the fact that sleeves themselves wear out after a while. Only thing I would ever consider sleeving would be the cards for an irreplaceable game. Then again I don't mind normal wear at all.

Counterpoint to that would be that yes the sleeves will get worn less quickly than most cards, some people prefer the feel of sleeves, and some people prefer shuffling sleeves. I find that the latter two are generally ex-Magic players and the like so unless you and your friends and family fall into that group I doubt you would feel the same frankly.

 

[StoOgE]

I refuse to sleave cards.

I buy games to play them, cards get worn out a bit. Deal with it.

 

[Mashing]

Yeah, I figured as much. I bought sleeves for CCG's I've had in the past (Marvel Overpower, Star Wars CCG, etc...), but I think in this case I will prefer the feel of the cards in my hand. Plus, the cost of sleeves add up over time.

Edit: Oh, and I found me a group to play with. Some of hte people I work with run a gaming society and there's another one I'm thinking about joining on Meetup. I noticed that some of you went to a con in Dallas back in November. I live in Texas, so I was wondering if any of you actually live in Houston?