The New Board Game Thread (Newcomer Friendly)

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ggs guys that was a lot of fun. saboteur made it memorable for me :lol

riorius is text-based dominion champ!
 
AstroLad said:
ggs guys that was a lot of fun. saboteur made it memorable for me :lol

riorius is text-based dominion champ!
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I burned about 4 golds and a province because of you. You hit one on nearly every damn hand.

GG guys.
 
i would NEVER do that IRL but that's what's fun about dominion zork -- no consequences! after trashing that first province i was hooked!
 
AstroLad said:
i would NEVER do that IRL but that's what's fun about dominion zork -- no consequences! after trashing that first province i was hooked!
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I can't say much, I was knocking your hands down to 3 cards pretty regularly the game before. :lol

The 2nd and last games were really good.

I really didn't show up to play the first one. I never really came up with a strategy and just started buying random ass cards because there were no real +action or +cards to be had and I just sort of aimlessly wandered. Probably why Astro and I both got crushed by 30+ points.

I got lucky on the last game given that I was chasing the treasure map and never hit on it.
 
Sorry I missed it, but the wife was feeling good enough to game (but not good enough to hop on a computer), so we played At the Gates of Loyang.

This is the latest Uwe Rosenberg game, and features a harvest style set up similar to Agricola and Le Havre.

I'm definitely going to need another play or two to get a good grip on it, but I enjoyed it. The familiar-ish Harvest mechanic plays closer to that found in Agricola than Le Havre, but with no feeding whatsoever (!!!)

This one is focused heavily on commerce, mostly in a direct barter/supply customers sort of way (less of a focus on building up infrastructure). There's a really nice interplay between regular customers (as you continually meet their needs, you earn more money from them) and one off customers (place bigger orders, can be bigger payoffs, but not always).
 
StoOgE said:
I'm a huge fan of Small World.

It isn't all that well balanced, it is really goofy but it is also damn fun, and has some interesting design mechanics for when to go into decline.

However, it really doesn't get good unless you have 4 or 5 players.

With 2 players it almost plays itself because the board feels too large for that many. 3 players works on occasion, but typically it turns into a 2 man race with the 3rd player playing kingmaker.. which is sort of interesting in a pact making kind of way but not that great.

At 4 and 5 players choosing to go into decline is a really strategic decision and making sure you get the right race combos is really important. In a 2 and 3 person game it's basically a race to fill the board up so going into decline is a no brainer and you generally just take the first available race combo.. but with 4 and 5 players you are going to have a harder time retaining any sort of territory for too long and it really pays to buy your way down the list of available races to a better one.

I think it works as an extremely lite wargame that is a lot of fun, and it's hard to take the game too seriously with all of the goofy race combos that you can get. It isn't a serious game, but I throw it in my pile of fun party games for more casual friends.
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About the 2-player complaint - Are you playing on the provided 2-player board? I never found that that board was too large to avoid conflict on.

As for the rest of your comments, I mostly agree. The game is definitely best with 4-5 players, and while there are definite flaws, it's one of my personal favorites.

Note that the game, played correctly, is extremely cutthroat. If you're playing with someone who doesn't like that style of play, be warned that they won't like Smallworld. It seems like every time I introduce a new player to the game, everyone takes it easy on them for the first few turns/sometimes the entire game while they learn how to play, and they invariably win or nearly win because they're given free reign to do what they want.

As for the expansions, Cursed and Grand Dames are great. They simply introduce new races and powers - all of which are welcome additions. Tales and Legends sucks. It adds a random assortment of unnecessary complications that subtract far for from the game than they add.
 
AstroLad said:
i would NEVER do that IRL but that's what's fun about dominion zork -- no consequences! after trashing that first province i was hooked!
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I welcome people picking Saboteur in games when I play IRL. They're a pain in the ass, but they always lose.
 
yup exactly which is why zork dominion is awesome! all your attack fantasies can become realities. i think i bought six that game fuck winning :lol
 
Brashnir said:
About the 2-player complaint - Are you playing on the provided 2-player board? I never found that that board was too large to avoid conflict on. .
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It isn't so much that conflict is avoided or avoidable but that there is enough space that you can really stretch your legs a bit too much and it's possible for your race in decline to stay entrenched for a while. It just feels like with the two player game there isn't *enough* conflict. Plus with only one person to attack one of the key decision components is removed.

I actually just ordered all three expansions from Cool Stuff. I wanted them for a while but they have been out of stock and selling for 30 dollars each second hand. I wasn't going to pay that for a 10 dollar expansion. I'm looking forward to some of the races and especially the cursed power and one of the dames that lets you stack the race on a single spot while in decline.

The other new expansion is a card deck that creates randomness for every round. So starting in round 2 you flip over a card and it creates some wacky conditions for that next round. Could be fun or at least throw some extra chaos in the game.

I've had leaders of Small World for a while. It's an interesting decision mechanic.. you have to give you opponent a victory point to get your leader back if you want them. But it could pay off because it essentially gives you one of your chits back at the end of your turn.
 
AstroLad said:
yup exactly which is why zork dominion is awesome! all your attack fantasies can become realities. i think i bought six that game fuck winning :lol
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that is really the problem with Dominion. You see all these cool cards that do all kinds of really nifty things.. and buying all the cool ones is a sure fire way to lose.

I love Dominion, I just think it's funny whenever I get a card I don't see often I find myself drawn towards it even if it won't help me :lol
 
exactly. once i buy two "cool" cards i'll often just say fuck it and start going crazy. i mean still try to put something together but not worry about keeping a tight deck or . . . erm . . . winning. we sorta treat it like a casual game here even though i know some people take efficiency and optimization super seriously (why i stayed away from the tournaments at pax). i save worrying about that stuff for agricola dominion is for cool cards :p
 
StoOgE said:
It isn't so much that conflict is avoided or avoidable but that there is enough space that you can really stretch your legs a bit too much and it's possible for your race in decline to stay entrenched for a while. It just feels like with the two player game there isn't *enough* conflict. Plus with only one person to attack one of the key decision components is removed.
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I agree that the decision component is definitely lacking in the 2-player game. Still not sure if I agree on the board size issue, but I don't play much 2-player anyway, so it's kind of moot.

I actually just ordered all three expansions from Cool Stuff. I wanted them for a while but they have been out of stock and selling for 30 dollars each second hand. I wasn't going to pay that for a 10 dollar expansion. I'm looking forward to some of the races and especially the cursed power and one of the dames that lets you stack the race on a single spot while in decline.

The other new expansion is a card deck that creates randomness for every round. So starting in round 2 you flip over a card and it creates some wacky conditions for that next round. Could be fun or at least throw some extra chaos in the game.
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Yeah, the one that creates the randomness every round (Tales and Legends) is the one I don't like. At all. Maybe your experience will vary from mine. A big part of what I like about the game is that it's got a simple base mechanic and the complexity and randomness comes entirely from the races and powers. Adding a second complexity-and-randomness mechanic just pushes the game over the edge for me.

I've had leaders of Small World for a while. It's an interesting decision mechanic.. you have to give you opponent a victory point to get your leader back if you want them. But it could pay off because it essentially gives you one of your chits back at the end of your turn.
Click to expand...

I haven't tried Leaders yet. I think I'll pick it up though - sounds interesting. I'm all for terrorism and ransom demands
in my board games
 
platypotamus said:
This one is focused heavily on commerce, mostly in a direct barter/supply customers sort of way (less of a focus on building up infrastructure). There's a really nice interplay between regular customers (as you continually meet their needs, you earn more money from them) and one off customers (place bigger orders, can be bigger payoffs, but not always).
Click to expand...
Good to hear. We're actually going to be learning Le Havre this weekend. Unless we get the hankering for some Agricola. Which is likely.
 
AstroLad said:
Good to hear. We're actually going to be learning Le Havre this weekend. Unless we get the hankering for some Agricola. Which is likely.
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Set it up in advance if you can. I swear the set up page in the manual for Le Havre was about the most intimidating page I've seen in any board game manual ever.

I like that one a lot. I THINK Agricola is my favorite of the three still, but Le Havre is definitely awesome, and I think Loyang is too.
 
platypotamus said:
Set it up in advance if you can. I swear the set up page in the manual for Le Havre was about the most intimidating page I've seen in any board game manual ever.

I like that one a lot. I THINK Agricola is my favorite of the three still, but Le Havre is definitely awesome, and I think Loyang is too.
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I kinda felt like the flavor of Le Havre was a bit off. Don't you feed your workers in that game?
 
Flynn said:
I kinda felt like the flavor of Le Havre was a bit off. Don't you feed on your workers in that game?
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My brain inserted the bolded word into your post by mistake. I had to do a double take.
 
My board game group that I've joined added a game of Mall of Horror to the lineup for next Tuesday so I'm going to check that out.

Has anyone played that or Shadows over Camelot before?

Shadows over Camelot looks a lot like Battle Star Gallactica.. have no idea what is going on with Mall of Horror other than the Zombie theme.

I figure I'll give the group two Tuesdays in a row and see what it's like. If nothing else it will be nice to find a group that owns their own Euro games so I can try some stuff out. Currently either I supply the game or we play something stupid like Apples to Apples.
 
Brettison said:
Yeah I'd like to go look around my local shop(s), but I just know shit is gonna be way cheaper online. :(
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Ya, I ended up ordering it from Amazon. I forgot I am a Prime member so 2 days free shipping.

If I like it I will probably go to a local store to get expansions though.

Sounds like the game went well. Hopefully my wife and I play this weekend so I learn it and can join next time.
 
eznark said:
Ya, I ended up ordering it from Amazon. I forgot I am a Prime member so 2 days free shipping.

If I like it I will probably go to a local store to get expansions though.

Sounds like the game went well. Hopefully my wife and I play this weekend so I learn it and can join next time.
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Amazon and Cool Stuff Inc have been my source for most games. I've bought a few games new when I just got a really bad bug to play something and couldn't wait. But for the most part I wait until I have 100 dollar order and pull the trigger on CSI.

I like my B&M store a good bit, but buying a game there is 40-50 dollars vs 30 bucks online. Hard to justify that price.

You can get stuff cheaper off of BGG's marketplace, but just like ebay my experience (thus far) has been insane shipping prices and it takes people 3-4 days to get around to going to the post office.
 
So, I was looking this Zombie game (Mall of Horror) and the thing is out of print and fetching well over 100 dollars second-hand on BGG. Why this dude is bringing it to a gaming session at a bar I don't know. I'm going to be nervous of spilling beer on it knowing I can't just order him a new copy off of CSI if I screw it up.
 
StoOgE said:
So, I was looking this Zombie game (Mall of Horror) and the thing is out of print and fetching well over 100 dollars second-hand on BGG. Why this dude is bringing it to a gaming session at a bar I don't know. I'm going to be nervous of spilling beer on it knowing I can't just order him a new copy off of CSI if I screw it up.
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This is why I never play my old RoboRally expansions. Saw a copy of Armed & Dangerous sell on ebay for over 100 bucks yesterday and the other expansions go for even more. Same goes for my Union Pacific. One day. I do play Survive! though (now getting reprinted anyway, so even less of a big deal). Part of it is that while I do take good care of my games, I'm not as anal as some (don't sleeve cards, etc.) so I accept that play sessions will create moderate wear and tear.
 
yeah, most of my games have some wear and tear, but that is the point. They are games, not art collections.

However, I think taking an ultra-rare game to a bar is just asking for trouble.
 
Never had trouble with spillage or people breaking my games. I always make a point to let them know to be careful.

Didn't know the game was so rare, I should go buy the copy my local shop has just sitting on the shelf to resell :D
 
AstroLad said:
This is why I never play my old RoboRally expansions. Saw a copy of Armed & Dangerous sell on ebay for over 100 bucks yesterday and the other expansions go for even more. Same goes for my Union Pacific. One day. I do play Survive! though (now getting reprinted anyway, so even less of a big deal). Part of it is that while I do take good care of my games, I'm not as anal as some (don't sleeve cards, etc.) so I accept that play sessions will create moderate wear and tear.
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I have to admit I keep this in the back of my head when we play A&A: Anniversary Edition. I think even used copies of it go for over $200 on eBay now. Luckily my friends tend to be fairly careful around whatever games we play and drinks are kept at a separate table.
 
One thing I noticed last night when I was browsing BGG looking for a nice list of places to play games online is that almost every single freaking game has an online iteration of some sort. Now some are in French, some are text-based, yadda yadda. But just go to the game page and scroll down and you're very likely to find something worthwhile, so if you guys stumble upon some good ones just post and we'll see if we can't get some games going.
 
AstroLad said:
hey that's better than sending your newborn babies out to rustle up cattle!
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Pfft, there's two main reasons I want to have kids: 1. More people to board game with. 2. Slave labor disguised as "chores".
 
Ugg, trading at BGG is so screwed up.

All of these people put games in their "for trade" list and then a bunch of games in their "want in trade" list.. and the system matches you up.

You contact them and either 1) They don't really want to trade the game in their for trade list that much or 2) They don't really want the game they put in their want in trade list.

Dead lord people, it's simple:

1) Only put games you don't want anymore in your for trade list.
2) Only put games you are willing to get in trade for those in list 1 in your for trade list.

Please someone take Memoir 44 off my hands
 
Now that there's a rather big list of people in the GAF Guild, I wonder if we can facilitate trading that way.

Everyone be sure to add and flag all your games correctly (for trade, want, etc.). I'm gonna add Full Metal Planete and Aliens to my Want list when I get a chance. :D
 
StoOgE said:
Ugg, trading at BGG is so screwed up.

All of these people put games in their "for trade" list and then a bunch of games in their "want in trade" list.. and the system matches you up.

You contact them and either 1) They don't really want to trade the game in their for trade list that much or 2) They don't really want the game they put in their want in trade list.

Dead lord people, it's simple:

1) Only put games you don't want anymore in your for trade list.
2) Only put games you are willing to get in trade for those in list 1 in your for trade list.

Please someone take Memoir 44 off my hands
Click to expand...
Just keep plugging away, you'll get rid of it. I PM the people first to test the waters and if somebody bites I start up the trade.
 
yeah memoir 44 is generally liked on BGG too (unlike here :lol). then again they don't compare it to real wargames unlike you jerks :p
 
StoOgE said:
Ugg, trading at BGG is so screwed up.

All of these people put games in their "for trade" list and then a bunch of games in their "want in trade" list.. and the system matches you up.

You contact them and either 1) They don't really want to trade the game in their for trade list that much or 2) They don't really want the game they put in their want in trade list.

Dead lord people, it's simple:

1) Only put games you don't want anymore in your for trade list.
2) Only put games you are willing to get in trade for those in list 1 in your for trade list.

Please someone take Memoir 44 off my hands
Click to expand...

Math trades for the win. That's the best way of getting rid of/changing around your games on BGG. Basically everyone puts up games they want to trade away & then using a website, you say which games you'd be willing to trade for what. A very cool piece of software works out long "chains" of trades, e.g. Joe sends game to Bob, Bob sends a game to Jim, Jim sends a game to Joe.
 
fenners said:
Math trades for the win. That's the best way of getting rid of/changing around your games on BGG. Basically everyone puts up games they want to trade away & then using a website, you say which games you'd be willing to trade for what. A very cool piece of software works out long "chains" of trades, e.g. Joe sends game to Bob, Bob sends a game to Jim, Jim sends a game to Joe.
Click to expand...

How do you set those up?

edit: found a thread.. thanks.
 
StoOgE said:
1) Only put games you don't want anymore in your for trade list.
2) Only put games you are willing to get in trade for those in list 1 in your for trade list.
Click to expand...

Also there seems to be a lot of people that have EITHER games listed as "trading" or games listed as "want in trade" but not both. Not helpful, guys!
 
I can understand the reluctance to trade something when an offer actually comes along. Even though we never play any of these anymore, even a couple of 'em that we only played once elicit fond memories. Still lame and frustrating to have to deal with, especially when you know so little about the other person. I have gotten seriously burned with board game trades/buys before...personally I would just prefer to trade with gaffers anyway.

I need to update my list and check components (not to mention come up with a want list that makes sense), but it's probably going to look something like this:

-Age of Mythology (big maybe)
-Babel
-Doom
-Warcraft (sort of a maybe)
-Geist: Prank It Up!
-War of the Ring
-Descent: Journeys in the Dark
-Descent: Road to Legend
-Descent: Well of Darkness
-Squarrels (card game)
-Rook (card game)

I take good care of my games, so everything should be in great shape, clean, complete, etc. PM me if you want me to double check one of 'em. I don't use sleeves, so some cards may show some light wear. Now for the want list....hmmm...

platypotamus said:
Also there seems to be a lot of people that have EITHER games listed as "trading" or games listed as "want in trade" but not both. Not helpful, guys!
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>.> tee hee

I dunno, a little different with gaffers, though, since it's easier to communicate. If somebody on here saw something they wanted I could just go browse their trade list to see if there's anything there I want.
 
echoshifting said:
I can understand the reluctance to trade something when an offer actually comes along. Even though we never play any of these anymore, even a couple of 'em that we only played once elicit fond memories. Still lame and frustrating to have to deal, especially when you know so lately about the other person. I have gotten seriously burned with board game trades/buys before...personally I would just prefer to trade with gaffers anyway.

I need to update my list and check components (not to mention come up with a want list that makes sense), but it's probably going to look something like this:

-Age of Mythology (big maybe)
-Babel
-Doom
-Warcraft (sort of a maybe)
-Geist: Prank It Up!
-War of the Ring
-Descent: Journeys in the Dark
-Descent: Road to Legend
-Descent: Well of Darkness
-Squarrels (card game)
-Rook (card game)

I take good care of my games, so everything should be in great shape, clean, complete, etc. PM me if you want me to double check one of 'em. I don't use sleeves, so some cards may show some light wear. Now for the want list....hmmm...



>.> tee hee

I dunno, a little different with gaffers, though, since it's easier to communicate. If somebody on here saw something they wanted I could just go browse their trade list to see if there's anything there I want.
Click to expand...
I might be interested in War of the Ring. Take a look at my collection (even if it's not up for trade) and make me an offer.
http://geekdo.com/collection/user/joeyjoejoeshabadoo
 
Well, I'm trying to get a guy to give me Forbidden Island for it at this point. Come on, my game cost twice a much :/
 
My Alhambra Big Box came in the mail today. I was genuinely excited about it, which is a first for me. I guess I'm officially a Board Game Geek at this point. :lol :lol

So many bits! It was honestly a ton of fun punching out all the cardboard pieces and slotting them
lovingly
into their proper home.

I haven't even played the game, but I've read the rules and watched a lengthy Dice Tower overview so I have a pretty good handle on how the game works. It seems like its expansions are really smartly thought out, by being separated into 20 different modules. Stuff like Diamonds (the wild card currency) and a few others I'll probably play with every game - it won't even feel like expansion content. The stuff that changes the game more wildly will be used more sparingly obviously, but it is still nice to have it all as an option. And I'm sure some of the modules interact with others in interesting ways.
 
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