I think the heaviest board game I ever played was A Feast for Odin but it definitely didn't feel that way. I love it but damn, this pass weekend I finally had a chance to play Gaia Project! I've owned it for months but between working full time, full classes, and other social obligations, I haven't had the time for truly heavy games. It took about 3 1/2 hours to play through because my friend and I took our time and really spent time going over the rules at first then while playing. I loved it, I want to play it again, I want to learn this game and really figure it out.
In the end, I ended up with 161 points and my friend with 164. I feel like we probably messed up, misread a rule because there is no way we really earned that many points. I will have to try it again so I can get a better handle on them but this seems like it will be easy enough to bring back to the table, well just us two. I can't imagine how long it would be with 4 people. What does ERA have to say? Any tips or common mistakes for first time players?
Another game I've been wanting to try out with 4 players is Heaven & Ale. I've had it for awhile but I have only ever played it with one other person. It's a great game, I love it and very easy to teach except scoring throws people off but holy hell, at 4 players, it really does let you see how much depth there is. Tile placement because even more important, money is more difficult to to manage I think but the balance becomes more important since I know there are another 2, 3, 4, or 5, rounds to go. It's not as heavy as Gaia Project but definitely something I'd show people who are nervous about jumping into really difficult games.
Just saw this over at /r/boardgames.
It's Target exclusive unfortunately but if it's good, I'll be getting it. I LOVE Pandemic.