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[StoOgE]

Dominion Question.

What is the definition of your 'hand size'?

For instance, I play a card that lets me draw until I have 6 cards in hand (Watchtower).

So, I start with 5 cards..

and I play some card that gives me +1 action. Then I play Watchtower.

Do I draw 3 cards (i.e. the two played cards are no longer 'in hand') or would a draw a single card (the 2 action cards still count as 'in hand')?

Thanks!

 

[AstroLad]

The action cards on the table/played are "in play," hand size/cards in hand is literally that.

 

[StoOgE]

Also, I bought Alchemy because it was 25 dollars at my FLGS. Even if it isn't all that great of an expansion it could add something to the mix.

I almost bought Resident Evil for similar reasons (25 bucks) but I've heard it needs several expansions to not feel exactly the same every time. Though I like Deckbuilding games and Resident Evil.

I almost bought Thunderstone because it has a lot of expansions... but it wasn't cheap and I realized I was talking myself into shit I don't need.

 

[StoOgE]

The action cards on the table/played are "in play," hand size/cards in hand is literally that.

Sweet. That is what I assumed, but wanted to double check since neither the FAQ on BGG or the rules seem to spell that out.

I did learn something pretty critical in the Prosperity rule readings (you don't want to lay down all of your gold depending on cards in play you may actually want to hold some back).

 

[StoOgE]

The action cards on the table/played are "in play," hand size/cards in hand is literally that.

So to cross apply this to another card.. Lighthouse only works as a defense card when it is sitting in front of you since it stays in play until your next turn?

i.e having it in hand does you dick all good if you are attacked.

Spoiler

Triple Combo

 

[AstroLad]

yes, moat is the one that helps you when in hand

 

[Lhadatt]

Which goes back to one of my key principles in life: Never trust card sleevers or card-sleeve dealers.

Is there some goofy underworld segment of board/card gaming that has produced a negative reputation for "card sleevers?" I bought a bunch of sleeves for Dominion, but that's because I can see wear on some of the more frequently used cards even though I haven't had the game that long. Am I a bad person for wanting my games to last a while?

 

[AstroLad]

no that is just something i made up

 

[Lhadatt]

Yeah, that was theory #2. "Astrolad is talking nonsense again"

 

[AstroLad]

how could there even be multiple theories!?

 

[Lhadatt]

I prefer to maintain an open mind about these things.

*resumes sleeving, OCD-style*

 

[StoOgE]

I prefer to maintain an open mind about these things.

If there are two options

1) Astrolad is trolling
2) Astrolad is saying something he thinks is actually true but is highly controversial

Option 1 is always right.

 

[StoOgE]

So now I really really really want Thunderstone.

Dang it.

I started watching videos and the artwork is pretty damn slick.

My only issue is it seems like Dominion, with a nerdier premise, longer playtime and less elegant.

I really don't think I need Thunderstone.

 

[AstroLad]

So now I really really really want Thunderstone.

platy-signal!

 

[StoOgE]

platy-signal!

yeah, I know a person who has the base game so I'm going to actually play it first.

I don't know if I want to play a 60 minute deck building game.

 

[Flynn]

yeah, I know a person who has the base game so I'm going to actually play it first.

I don't know if I want to play a 60 minute deck building game.

I've had games of Thunderstone go longer thanks to nasty traps.

 

[Neverfade]

Stronghold will finally be here tomorrow! I've been waiting for this since early '10. So pumped!

 

[XiaNaphryz]

Looking through the Dungeon Lords rules, it seems pretty straightforward. Trying to figure out the best+fastest way to teach people the rules though outside of going through the combat training examples.

 

[Captain_Spanky]

So now I really really really want Thunderstone.

Dang it.

I started watching videos and the artwork is pretty damn slick.

My only issue is it seems like Dominion, with a nerdier premise, longer playtime and less elegant.

I really don't think I need Thunderstone.

I've got the new one (Dragonspire) and although you can see similarities to Dominion it actually feels considerably different during play. I really like it.

 

[timetokill]

I finally got Arkham Horror and was able to play it over a couple of nights. Very fun, but the rules can be a bit vague about some things, and it's sometimes hard to look up answers to questions players have often. I found a few FAQs and stuff and read through a bunch of threads on BGG, but if anybody has any links to stuff they like in particular I'd love to read it. We beat Ithaqua which seemed really easy... any suggestions on a challenging mid-tier Ancient One?

Lastly, I'm debating whether to pick up Mansions of Madness or the Dunwich expansion for AH. Any suggestions?

 

[AstroLad]

I finally got Arkham Horror and was able to play it over a couple of nights. Very fun, but the rules can be a bit vague about some things, and it's sometimes hard to look up answers to questions players have often. I found a few FAQs and stuff and read through a bunch of threads on BGG, but if anybody has any links to stuff they like in particular I'd love to read it. We beat Ithaqua which seemed really easy... any suggestions on a challenging mid-tier Ancient One?

Lastly, I'm debating whether to pick up Mansions of Madness or the Dunwich expansion for AH. Any suggestions?

Dunwich!

Yeah Ithaqua or Nyarl is the easiest AO. Check out this spreadsheet if you want to see win rates: http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AliZyklaTCWzdEszdXpoRVJQNGltTU5wMi1qWEJnQkE&hl=en#gid=1 Maybe just go right out and try Cthulhu.

 

[joeyjoejoeshabadoo]

Looking through the Dungeon Lords rules, it seems pretty straightforward. Trying to figure out the best+fastest way to teach people the rules though outside of going through the combat training examples.

Same here. I'm thinking about bringing it my boardgame meeting tonight but I dread trying to have to explain it. It seems like there isn't a really easy to do so.

Speaking of boardgame meetings, tonight's featured game is Imperial. Anybody familiar with it? Thoughts? I'm trying to decide if I should try and get a seat at the game or pass on it and play something else.

 

[timetokill]

Dunwich!

Yeah Ithaqua or Nyarl is the easiest AO. Check out this spreadsheet if you want to see win rates: http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AliZyklaTCWzdEszdXpoRVJQNGltTU5wMi1qWEJnQkE&hl=en#gid=1 Maybe just go right out and try Cthulhu.

Good spreadsheet... it looks like the expansions add a lot to the difficulty!

Maybe I'll have to go with Dunwich after all Are the new investigators worth it, or are there any unbalanced things to worry about?

 

[fenners]

Same here. I'm thinking about bringing it my boardgame meeting tonight but I dread trying to have to explain it. It seems like there isn't a really easy to do so.

I got taught it just a couple of weeks ago & my mate had it down /great/ for teaching. He walks through the combat dungeon tutorials, setting them up as "puzzles" for us essentially. Then goes through the board, teaching it like a standard eurogame cube pusher but with more evil... /Then/ goes back to teh combat board & talks about what happens at the end of the year with adventurers coming onto it etc.

 

[AstroLad]

that chun-li dude that was sitting across from us in tabletop is the subject of this week's pa comic haha

 

[Neverfade]

I to play most of a game of Mansions of Madness with the girlfriend last night. So far, I like it better than AH a fair bit.

Edit: there were TWO chun li dudes there. I was on the Expo floor when I saw one roll up to Jerry for a picture and do this high knee leg
Pose with his inner thigh and crotch very close to Jerrys person. The look on his face was pure horror haha.

 

[jason10mm]

Heh heh, there was a male chun-li at dragoncon last year.

 

[joeyjoejoeshabadoo]

I ended up sitting in on the game of Imperial and I actually really enjoyed it. The basic premise is you play an investor in pre-WWI Europe. You can invest in various countries and if you are the highest investor you get to take out an action for that country. The actions are taken by moving the countries piece on a Rondel (think a euro game spinner). You may only move three spaces clockwise on the rondel and you have the option to move up to three more spaces by paying 2 Million for each space you move. Some of the actions include production (making armies and fleet), moving those armies and fleets, building factories, investing, and taxing (which is the main way you score points).

I'm not going to go too far into the rules but basically you are trying to build up a countries infrastructure in order to gain it points. The more points you have the more your stock points are going to be worth at the end of the game.

While it is important to have control in a country you aren't really playing as that country. For example, last night I was dealt Germany and I pretty much kept that country for the entire game. I started to become extremely tied to that country and when I was attacked by Great Britain my first reaction was to retaliate, however, I was already the second largest shareholder in GB and it was in my interest to let them grow their empire thus reaping the benefits at the end of the game. This game is an economic game in war game clothes. There is some conflict over conquerable territory (those will give you points) but there is little reason to invade another player's country other than to prevent that country from scoring the most points possible. So my one piece of strategy I can give is piggy back off the guy who is building his country. Instead of attacking them, buy stock in their country and reap the benefits of their hard work.

Overall it was a really interesting game that I would gladly play again. It was the first rondel game I played and I really liked the mechanic.

The second game we played was Shadow Hunters. It's a decent werewolf type game with items, health points, and dice rolling. I wouldn't call it a great game but it was quick and accommodates a lot of people, so if you absolutely need a werewolf type filler for your group of 8, I would take a look at it.

 

[Evlar]

I've played three games of Mansions of Madness, all five-player affairs. I like it much better than Arkham, and I really like Arkham.

 

[StoOgE]

Overall it was a really interesting game that I would gladly play again. It was the first rondel game I played and I really liked the mechanic.

I played Imperial 2030 on Tuesday for the first time and enjoyed the game. The only problem is it is a game you can really screw up in the first round.. or have screwed up for you by someone pulling a move that hurts both of you pretty badly.

I'd like to play it again, but I can say I've seen someone play a game of Imperial in which they had no control over any countries and just sat there for two hours investing what little money they were getting in a feutal effort to control a country.

That person actually won the game because their diversification of investments paid off pretty well but he was bored out of his mind. To the point that he was coming over and playing hands of Dominion with us while waiting for his next action.

 

[platypotamus]

My only issue is it seems like Dominion, with a nerdier premise, longer playtime and less elegant.

I really don't think I need Thunderstone.

Take that thought and multiply it by about ten, and you're getting close to just how inelegant it is. I think Ascension is much stronger.

Looking through the Dungeon Lords rules, it seems pretty straightforward. Trying to figure out the best+fastest way to teach people the rules though outside of going through the combat training examples.

I think it went pretty well when I split the teaching up for the first game. Teach the prep part. Play the prep part without REALLY talking about combat, then teach the combat during the first year's invasion. It gets you into the action a lot more quickly, and the first game is probably going to end with newbies getting worked by adventurers regardless, so yeah.

Dunwich!

Yeah Ithaqua or Nyarl is the easiest AO. Check out this spreadsheet if you want to see win rates: http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AliZyklaTCWzdEszdXpoRVJQNGltTU5wMi1qWEJnQkE&hl=en#gid=1 Maybe just go right out and try Cthulhu.

Looks a lot like a spreadsheet I started for Agricola, before I decided I needed to go full DB. Haven't yet, but will eventually.

 

[Neverfade]

I've not played Thunderstone, but any testimonial putting Ascension over it pretty much puts the nail in that coffin. Ascension was a giant snooze-fest for me. Flip cards, hope best one is there when it's your turn. Repeat ad nauseum.


In other news... Gaaaahh... I found a giftcard to B&N a while back and I read about as many books as a fucking monkey. So on my break I went over and got my girlfriend some novel and picked up the best game they had in their pitiful selection: Forbidden Island.

OhgodwhatamIdoing. I'm expecting to hate it but I guess I'll give it a fair shake. Trade fodder if nothing else I suppose.

 

[joeyjoejoeshabadoo]

I've not played Thunderstone, but any testimonial putting Ascension over it pretty much puts the nail in that coffin. Ascension was a giant snooze-fest for me. Flip cards, hope best one is there when it's your turn. Repeat ad nauseum.


In other news... Gaaaahh... I found a giftcard to B&N a while back and I read about as many books as a fucking monkey. So on my break I went over and got my girlfriend some novel and picked up the best game they had in their pitiful selection: Forbidden Island.

OhgodwhatamIdoing. I'm expecting to hate it but I guess I'll give it a fair shake. Trade fodder if nothing else I suppose.

I thought you didn't like Pandemic? Forbidden Island is basically Pandemic Jr. with a better end game.

 

[Neverfade]

I thought you didn't like Pandemic? Forbidden Island is basically Pandemic Jr. with a better end game.

I don't, hence the hesitation. But it was free to me.

A better end game is a start.

 

[StoOgE]

I don't, hence the hesitation. But it was free to me.

A better end game is a start.

It's also significantly streamlined and plays in half the time.

That said, it does have some of the same problems (more powerful characters, some useless ones, single player trying to control stuff).

it's worth a shot.

 

[Neverfade]

My friends are pretty anti you-must-do-this. Plenty of games of Battlestar would have ended in tears and/or blood otherwise.

 

[MichaelBD]

Played a second game of Mansions of Madness last night. So much better playing as the Keeper when you know your win condition

It was a blast messing with the investigators minds.

 

[Flynn]

Just played a second hand of Innovation. Damn that game is deep.

 

[Neverfade]

Got my Mansions of Madness on again. Story 2 as the keeper. Won right before the investigators got the last clue.

Hint to potential investigators there: Bring a gun.

 

[JayDubya]

Finally played Game of Thrones with 4 people and Clash of Kings expansion. Loads of fun.

Tyrell is awesome. Wish I could get two more and play with Greyjoy and Martell.

Wife also bought Robo Rally and Castle Panic. Both are decent. Robo Rally is the better of the two. Castle Panic seems pretty ideal for me at first glance, but it really kind of plays out in a kind of bland, predictable way each time we play, and it's too easy.

picked up forbidden island and pandemic.
Was able to play the first one with my kids. Still need to get to playing pandemic. So far good stuff.[/QUOTE

Forbidden Island is pretty great for kids, yeah. My 5 year old is realistically a little too young for the game's strategy so she mainly looks to us for what to do - she really likes being the Cartographer so she can move us around on her turn.

It's a good game in general but it's hard to figure out the right difficulty setting. The highest ones are too arbitrary in terms of time limit because all you need is to reshuffle the treasyre deck one time and have bad luck early on and you hit the red skull water level and game ends.

 

[jason10mm]

I've done some 6 player GOT and it is AWESOME! That game is really underrated. Alas, it really needs an alliance mechanism to make bribing others or breaking pacts mean something. Probably just slow the game down though, since one is gonna spend 30 minutes making an alliance with no enforcement that they know is gonna fall apart a turn later anyway.

I wonder if FFG is going to get the image rights from the HBO show and reissue the game.

I picked up Mansions of Madness last week. Still wading through that rulebook, but hopefully it is a game where the players can jump in quickly while the more experienced keeper keeps the game running.

 

[StoOgE]

Wife also bought Robo Rally and Castle Panic. Both are decent. Robo Rally is the better of the two. Castle Panic seems pretty ideal for me at first glance, but it really kind of plays out in a kind of bland, predictable way each time we play, and it's too easy.

I think castle panic is a pseudo kids game. That is the kind of tough thing about BGG rankings for kids and family games. They get rated just as highly for being good at what they do (i.e. entertain 8 year olds) which is fair.. but can make it hard to evaluate the game from an adults perspective.

RoboRally is aces with a large group and booze.

 

[StoOgE]

Best tool ever on BGG.

http://boardgamestuff.com/cgi/gamevisitcalc

Compare games in you and a buddies collection to see what one of you has that the other doesn't. Extremely handy if you are going to another geeks house. Especially when I only around 50 games and everyone I play with is closer to 200.

 

[JayDubya]

I think castle panic is a pseudo kids game. That is the kind of tough thing about BGG rankings for kids and family games. They get rated just as highly for being good at what they do (i.e. entertain 8 year olds) which is fair.. but can make it hard to evaluate the game from an adults perspective.

RoboRally is aces with a large group and booze.

Castle Panic COULD be awesome, it's just not challenging enough. It seems that way, but even when you get the draw 4, then the draw 3, and you draw the goblin king that makes you draw MORE, it's still not that hard to win.

We may try again with one of the variant, start with no walls options... or maybe it'll be better with a player controlling the monsters...?

Robo Rally is competitive speed math with deathmatch elements. I am thusly a fan.

 

[Flynn]

Finally played Game of Thrones with 4 people and Clash of Kings expansion. Loads of fun.

Tyrell is awesome. Wish I could get two more and play with Greyjoy and Martell.

Have you tried the LCG? I played it when it was a CGG and it was really good. You'll dig the way the different houses play.

 

[timetokill]

Ok, dudes, Dunwich expansion seems to be out of print? If I want a big box expansion for AH, do I just go for Innsmouth or wait out Dunwich, which is supposedly getting a new batch "soon?"

I realize now that I don't really know of many good stores for board games around me now Anybody know good ones in the Los Angeles area?

 

[StoOgE]

Got some games in.

1) Dungeon Lords: Had no idea this was a Euro worker placement game. Thought it was pure Ameritrash because of the theme and art. I liked the game enough, though for such a simple game mechanically it took *forever* to explain the rules and set up. Came in a distant 2nd.

2) Tammany Hall. Went over well, I came from behind at the end to dominate with a pretty healthy win. Screwed a couple of people over.

3) For sale. Still enjoy this stupid game.

4) Thunderstone.. SHEESH. There were moments where I started to like this game. But man, I just don't know. The monsters we had were largely immune to sharp weapons.. and the only weapon available was a sharp weapon. I don't know. It didn't seem anyone really managed to build a coherent deck.. I like the theme and idea of this game, but the execution felt pretty off. I want another game of it before I make up my mind.

I didn't hate the game by any means and even rather enjoyed it.. but it feels like a slower playing worse version of Dominion. We easily could have gotten 3-4 games of Dominion in in the time it took to play one game of this.. and I'm not sure that this was as good as a single game of Dominion would have been.

 

[MichaelBD]

Got an early birthday present from my brother yesterday: Cash 'n Guns.

We were at a family dinner and everyone got a kick out of the foam guns. It's a painfully simple game with plenty of laughs. I'm curious to try some of the expanded play options that come with it.

Only downside is my niece got a little too eager to flip one of her cards in play and bent/tore her card on the bottom. Now I have to sleeve the set so you can't tell it's marked.

 

[jason10mm]

Thunderstone needs tailored decks to make sure you can successfully deal with the monsters. Some require additional light and if there are none in the town or heroes, well, you are screwed. Or at least it will be a low scoring game as you lose battle after battle to cycle through the monsters. There are some apps and programs out there that will make sure you get a good selection, especially important once you add in all those expansions.

But TS plays a lot differently than Dominion. A lot more analytical to figure out if you can fight a monster and sort out how all the effects will play out. If you want that type of theme but the rapid play of Dominion, try Ascension, I really think it captures both games well. I just think it needs more expansions to add variety because right now there are only a few paths to victory and a lot of the cooler card set-ups are very limited.

I'm interested to see how the FFG RuneAge game comes out. I think the GoT LCG is fantastic and hope it borrows from it. Never tried Cthulhu or Warhammer. Now that my wife is getting into magic I'm hoping she will be more partial to these other card games. Ascension is a good starter as it is extremely basic, I'll have to get her to try it.

I do think that Thunderstone seems a bit rushed. It has some thematic oddities, like spells being cast by nobody. Adding in a character for the player (with all the other heroes being henchmen or allies) would resolve this, and you could have different characters that dictated certain strategies (better at magic, buys goods cheaper, etc) to further increase immersion.

 

[StoOgE]

I do think that Thunderstone seems a bit rushed. It has some thematic oddities, like spells being cast by nobody. Adding in a character for the player (with all the other heroes being henchmen or allies) would resolve this, and you could have different characters that dictated certain strategies (better at magic, buys goods cheaper, etc) to further increase immersion.

We also played with a rule wrong. The guy said you could equip any number of weapons so long as your character had sufficient strength to wield them all. Looks like that part was wrong. You get one weapon per character.

And I agree.

1) There need to be certain characters that can use spells (force you to build a varied deck).

2) You can't use a random deck. This game just screams pre-built decks.

The real issue is with Dominion you are ultimitely trying to do exactly one thing (get enough gold in hand by hook or crook to buy VP cards).

Thunderstone has the "problem" of having multiple things you may need to get a VP card.. and those things vary wildly. You need light. You need attack. Sometimes you need magic attack. Sometimes you need physical attack. Sometimes you can't use sharp weapons, etc.

So your "goal" is constantly shifting during the game which makes it very hard to plan a good deck unless you know what cards are coming up in the game.

3) You need to add one row to the dungeon for every player in the game. Someone might still take the cards, but it's really frustrating having no idea what card you are going to deal with next turn if the 3 players in front of you kill a monster.

It's like if you had no way of knowing what VP cards may or may not be available to purchase at the start of your next hand in Dominion.

I think the game has some strong points. The theme is much better than Dominions.. the added complexity requires a more thought out deck. The battle scenario's have more risk/reward to them than buying VP in Dominion. The game fits in one fucking box and it's well organized.

There is just a lot that keeps those positives from shining in my opinion.