Board Gaming Era |OT| (Mostly) Unplugged Gaming

Deleted member 8860 · Jan 15, 2018

derFeef said:
Maybe the expansions or the successor improve it?

No. Boss Monster is a gimmick game -- the theme and art are all it has going for it.

For a light two player game, consider Jaipur. Pandemic isn't too tough, but you can start off with Forbidden Desert/Island first. There are a number of Dominion-like games with various themes that you might also want to look at.

Mandos · Jan 15, 2018

derFeef said:
My girfriend got me Boss Monster for Christmas and we tried to play it for a few times. But there are a few issues.
One is, that my GF is not that into reading cards and per-card rules, so "building", and I think the game is heavily luck based and the spell cards are very much underutilized. It's charming, but every time it ends, it's.. eh.. okay. I did not play well or bad.. it just ended. Maybe the expansions or the successor improve it?

We got two player Bohnanza (not sure for non-German territories?) and very much addicted to this. Also we like to play Loot Letter (Munchkin variant of Love Letter) a lot.
I am now looking for a game a bit more complex than Love Letter, but not too complex with lot's of per-card rules and texts, for two players :) Dominion sounds neat! Also Pandemic and other cooperative board games could work well I guess. Those fable and Fast Forward games with Legacy-like flow sound neat-

Gimicks a big part, but 2 is far more balanced than one overall, especially if you mix the two

BrokenMill · Jan 16, 2018

Antiquegamer said:
I think it would be better that you handicap yourself by giving other players easier to play factions instead of not building any mech. Without mech there is no way you could even be competitive because you can't easily cross water, you can't transport workers and most of all you provide no threat to your neighbor which in Scythe I found is probably more important than anything.

Yeah, that might have been a better idea, but that no mech victory achievement is a very tempting challenge ;)

derFeef said:
I am now looking for a game a bit more complex than Love Letter, but not too complex with lot's of per-card rules and texts, for two players :) Dominion sounds neat! Also Pandemic and other cooperative board games could work well I guess. Those fable and Fast Forward games with Legacy-like flow sound neat-

7 Wonders duel seems like a good game for you. Dominion does have text on each card, but there are only 10 different cards each game, so that might work too.

derFeef · Jan 16, 2018

Thanks for the answers! :)
Boss Monster being a bit more balanced sounds good to me - my girlfriend is really frustrated that a game she gifted to me is not that good and we both don't have much fun with it other than the art and flavor text.
I will look into 7 Wonders Duel and Dominion now, thanks! :)

Another question - is there a reason Munchkin is getting hate on board/tabletop game forums? I don't play it often because I lack the # of players, but every time I do it's huge fun!

Deleted member 733 · Jan 16, 2018

derFeef said:
Thanks for the answers! :)
Boss Monster being a bit more balanced sounds good to me - my girlfriend is really frustrated that a game she gifted to me is not that good and we both don't have much fun with it other than the art and flavor text.
I will look into 7 Wonders Duel and Dominion now, thanks! :)

Another question - is there a reason Munchkin is getting hate on board/tabletop game forums? I don't play it often because I lack the # of players, but every time I do it's huge fun!

Munchkin usually gets hate because it can go FOREVER depending on the number of players and expansions, and it comes down to politics of who's the third person or whatever once everyone has spent all their cards to stomp the first and second place people into the ground.

If there's a hard timer of 1 hour set, I'll tolerate Munchkin.

zulux21 · Jan 16, 2018

Blizzard said:
Munchkin usually gets hate because it can go FOREVER depending on the number of players and expansions, and it comes down to politics of who's the third person or whatever once everyone has spent all their cards to stomp the first and second place people into the ground.

If there's a hard timer of 1 hour set, I'll tolerate Munchkin.

yeah, most people play it with a group to big when really there needs to be a hard limit of 4 players.
Once you have people who understand how to try to win, the game becomes lopsided towards saving up for the end.

in fact the best strategy in Munchkin typically is to purposely keep your level in last place for a while, so that people will let you keep collecting treasure and giving you cards when they need to discard, and then spring up to level 9 quickly through cards you have and now that you are really built up just go out :P

I still have fun with it, but I absolutely refuse to play with more than 4 players anymore as with more than that it is to easy to rebuild up to keep people from going out.

derFeef · Jan 16, 2018

That makes sense. I never played it above 4 players and we always ended it fairly quickly. Munchkin Cthulhu helps a bit with the cultists - they can end the game randomly and fast.
Meanwhile I watched some Dominion videos and I might get this as my new gateway game :)

zulux21 · Jan 16, 2018

derFeef said:
That makes sense. I never played it above 4 players and we always ended it fairly quickly. Munchkin Cthulhu helps a bit with the cultists - they can end the game randomly and fast.
Meanwhile I watched some Dominion videos and I might get this as my new gateway game :)

I hope you enjoy Dominion (I sure don't :P)
Also keep in mind with board games that if you have a decent tablet there are plenty of great games you can get digitally that work with pass and play.

Ascension is one such game, which is somewhat like dominion but a lot more random in nature (which really makes the game more interesting for me)

Pandemic is another app you can get (which I can't remember if it supports pace and play) I think forbidden desert and island are out on IOS as well.

These apps are good ways to try out the games before you buy them, or even as a way to play them for some games as despite owning 3 or 4 sets of ascension I haven't pulled out any of them since I got the app lol. (doesn't hurt I got more interesting and complicated deck builders since then as well)

euricaeris · Jan 16, 2018

derFeef said:
Another question - is there a reason Munchkin is getting hate on board/tabletop game forums? I don't play it often because I lack the # of players, but every time I do it's huge fun!

I played a 5 player game years ago with the first four or five expansions. It didn't take too long for us all to be a level away from winning, and then we proceeded to spend more than 3 hours baiting each other into using cards if someone was about to win. After all that, it ended up as a two-way tie via divine intervention. We didn't play Munchkin after that, lol.

I will say though that it was a pretty good gateway game, I definitely got into board games because of it. The closest game to Munchkin I play nowadays is Cosmic Encounter, which is a phenomenal game.

Deleted member 8860 · Jan 16, 2018

Has the BoardGameGeek API been having some issues recently? I haven't been able to use 3rd party apps to search for games or log plays for a few days now.

EDIT: The site seems to be really flaky too. I'll temporarily log the games I played over the weekend here: Vegas Showdown, ONUW x4, Century: Spice Road, Cockroach Poker.

derFeef said:
Another question - is there a reason Munchkin is getting hate on board/tabletop game forums? I don't play it often because I lack the # of players, but every time I do it's huge fun!

Games that have no interesting mechanics or strategy are disliked by the folks that frequent board/tabletop forums/sites. Munchkin is effectively Blue Shell - The Card Game. Bash the leader, then bash the next leader, etc., until either the attack cards are exhausted or the players are (I'd certainly rather let you win than drag on the game any longer). Beyond the blue shell element and the thematic gimmick, Munchkin's barely more involved than Snakes and Ladders.

zulux21 said:
Ascension is one such game

The Ascension app is great. It was my go-to time-filler until Race for the Galaxy got ported to iOS.

Also, the physical Ascension 2-player starter set ("Apprentice Edition") is $5.80 on Amazon (US). That's a pretty solid way to get into deck-building games, though if derFeef's partner doesn't care for cards with special ability text, most deck-builders aren't going to be great options. (The $12-ish Star Realms is also highly recommended for two, but again has a lot of special ability text.)

derFeef · Jan 16, 2018

Sounds like Munchkin needs some house rules to make it not that much of a slog I guess. As I mentioned Cthulhu already has the cultists that can end the game out of the blue - also Apocalypse has this Seven Sigil thing which can make you win the game - never played the latter sadly.

I was in the toy store now and they only had Dominion expansions and the solo base-card deck. I guess that would do but I want a base set box for sure. I was so ready to try it out :(
I got Dungeon Roll for 1€ though! But my god is the manual/booklet horrible - I have no idea how to play it. Time to watch some videos, haha.

Thanks for the Cosmic Encounter hint!

nicoga3000 said:
I hate Munchkin more than I hate any other game I've ever played, because the amount of "Fuck you" plays that game encourages is mind alteringly frustrating. I don't mind the idea of competitive denial, but Munchkin encourages you to be the absolute worst to ONE person at any given point, and that's such a turn off.

However, some people love it?

I sure only seem to encounter people that hate it ;)
I don't love it, but I think it's fun. I also have a sizable collection - even if I only play a match per year or so.

nicoga3000 · Jan 16, 2018

I hate Munchkin more than I hate any other game I've ever played, because the amount of "Fuck you" plays that game encourages is mind alteringly frustrating. I don't mind the idea of competitive denial, but Munchkin encourages you to be the absolute worst to ONE person at any given point, and that's such a turn off.

However, some people love it?

mercviper · Jan 16, 2018

My house rule for Munchkin is to never play it

Mandos · Jan 16, 2018

I've had fun with the marvel version although the infinity stones literally break the game on purpose. Which can have hilarious results when someone has pulled 5 powers in a row. But I played with a guy with good humor, and a preteen in between our time on stage during musical practice

absolutbro · Jan 16, 2018

Add me to the "I will never play Munchkin" camp. It really depends on the group, but there are few games I have seen get more toxic than Munchkin. Like, ruined a night of gaming toxic.

Also I will echo the love for Ascension. I have the Android version with all the expacs and if I have 10 minutes where nothing is happening I'm invariably playing. I have never played the physical version though, so I can really only speak for the ap version.

One Deck Dungeon, I think, plays better with two than it does with one and certainly better than it does with four. It is a hybrid card/dice game though, not sure if that is a turn off for you.

Deleted member 4452 · Jan 16, 2018

Jolly crap, the store I ordered from just confirmed I will receive Gloomhaven this Friday. Yeeees! Really did not expect it at all, since I only preordered it yesterday (below MSRP, too!)

JSR_Cube · Jan 16, 2018

Well, I have found my first CMoN Kickstarter to skip: HATE.

What weird design decisions with this one. The game seems to be a mess and I don't mind adult or gritty but this isn't it. It is just trying so hard.

Bane · Jan 16, 2018

Just opened a gravity feed of SW: Destiny Legacy and had four packs with mismatched die and card, but then by the end everything matched up. Is this just a hell of a coincidence or do FFG have more control over the distribution than I realized? Also, only six legendaries. Bummer.

Deleted member 733 · Jan 16, 2018

Bane said:
Just opened a gravity feed of SW: Destiny Legacy and had four packs with mismatched die and card, but then by the end everything matched up. Is this just a hell of a coincidence or do FFG have more control over the distribution than I realized? Also, only six legendaries. Bummer.

All Destiny booster boxes are SUPPOSED to have exactly 30 rares and exactly 6 legendaries. None of the legendaries should be dupes I believe.

Rarely there are manufacturing problems (5 legendaries, 7 legendaries, dupe legendaries, mismatched dice that usually fix themselves by the time you finish opening the box, mismatched dice or misprinted dice that do not fix themselves).

Bane · Jan 16, 2018

Blizzard said:
All Destiny booster boxes are SUPPOSED to have exactly 30 rares and exactly 6 legendaries. None of the legendaries should be dupes I believe.

Rarely there are manufacturing problems (5 legendaries, 7 legendaries, dupe legendaries, mismatched dice that usually fix themselves by the time you finish opening the box, mismatched dice or misprinted dice that do not fix themselves).

Ah, okay. The other feeds I've opened each had seven legendaries so I thought that was the expected number. That makes me feel better.

I'd love to see how the distribution works that mismatched die can sort themselves out.

Deleted member 733 · Jan 16, 2018

Bane said:
Ah, okay. The other feeds I've opened each had seven legendaries so I thought that was the expected number. That makes me feel better.

I'd love to see how the distribution works that mismatched die can sort themselves out.

I'm guessing it's a machine or by hand per box? There is also weirdness in that if you buy 2 boxes from the same store and the same shipping pallet, there's a very good chance that they will have similar distributions of rares etc.

You were definitely lucky with 7 legendaries though. I don't think any of my friends have gotten a box like that.

derFeef · Jan 17, 2018

Is the BoardGameGeek site incredibl slow for everyone else? I just started using it and adding items is a pain :(

fenners · Jan 17, 2018

derFeef said:
Is the BoardGameGeek site incredibl slow for everyone else? I just started using it and adding items is a pain :(

They're having major problems this week. Possibly related to the new image beta page.

Taborcarn · Jan 17, 2018

Yeah it was completely timing out for me yesterday, it's a little better right now.

derFeef · Jan 17, 2018

Oh okay. :)
Does anyone own Gaia Project? It looks reeeaally good and interesting (except the art... blegh)
This is such a game I will never paly because I like the group of friends :(

Mandos · Jan 17, 2018

Anybody try the Legend of Zelda version of clue? The retheme seems fun, and I need a few more... traditional hooks for my collection and the theme is another great hook

Taborcarn · Jan 17, 2018

derFeef said:
Oh okay. :)
Does anyone own Gaia Project? It looks reeeaally good and interesting (except the art... blegh)
This is such a game I will never paly because I like the group of friends :(

Terra Mystica is one of my top games, but I haven't played Gaia Project yet. It's #1 on my wishlist though. Especially since it does have a solo mode, and that's how I get most of my gaming in nowadays.

Fonst · Jan 17, 2018

Taborcarn said:
Terra Mystica is one of my top games, but I haven't played Gaia Project yet. It's #1 on my wishlist though. Especially since it does have a solo mode, and that's how I get most of my gaming in nowadays.

I have a friend who loves Terra Mystica but says Gaia is better. Though he does prefer space but there were other aspects I forget that he enjoyed more.

derFeef · Jan 17, 2018

Sounds great. One to look out for - solo mode is a huge plus for me.
My Dominion package should arrive tomorrow - I got the "2. Edition" since it was the only one available (besides an expesive original edition) also it seems to have some balance changes included?

Deleted member 8860 · Jan 17, 2018

Gaia Project's competitive tech track replacing cults/favors/individual upgrades is a tremendous improvement over the weakest elements of Terra Mystica. On the other hand, the aliens/space theme and less-contentious area control are significant downsides for me. I've also heard mixed reports about the game's playtime relative to TM, from both acquaintances and BGG.

Mandos · Jan 17, 2018

Got in imperial assault and started sorting, got all the tokens bagged in general use groups, and some f the cards as well. Thank goodness for spare xwing baggies. Next step is the play tiles, although bagging them by size may do the trick for now(1x2s, 2x2s, etc) between the few game bags and a couple of quart ziplocks, should have enough to do the trick. For now I'll use the included divider

Deleted member 733 · Jan 17, 2018

derFeef said:
Sounds great. One to look out for - solo mode is a huge plus for me.
My Dominion package should arrive tomorrow - I got the "2. Edition" since it was the only one available (besides an expesive original edition) also it seems to have some balance changes included?

Huh, I haven't heard about that. Does anyone know what changed?

derFeef · Jan 17, 2018

Blizzard said:
Huh, I haven't heard about that. Does anyone know what changed?

http://wiki.dominionstrategy.com/index.php/Second_Edition
Some cards removed and some added. Artwork change for money.

I think this is available as the update pack:
https://whatsericplaying.com/2017/01/15/dominion-update-pack/

That's the box I will get:

Deleted member 733 · Jan 17, 2018

Thank goodness there's an update pack. I might grab that! I really hope the card back coloring is identical though. :p

zulux21 · Jan 17, 2018

the red dragon inn 7 kickstarter went live https://www.kickstarter.com/project...ed-dragon-inn-7-the-tavern-crew?ref=discovery
though there isn't a ton of reason to back this one through them from backer bonuses and what not. I will still back it because I like red dragon inn and don't mind getting the eco boxes to make it easier to throw away the other boxes :P

and awaken realms (people who did this war of mine board game and a few others) launched a new semi co op horror sci fi game
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/awakenrealms/nemesis-board-game?

the main thing to note here is if you back in the first 24 hours (which it should be for at least 12 more hours after this post) then you get an extra hero added in for free. There is also a bunch of stretch goals.

Cindres · Jan 17, 2018

So I'm seeing a lot of fuss about HATE, mostly negative. Why's this one such a high profile release, are CMoN a well known/established publisher?

zulux21 · Jan 17, 2018

Cindres said:
So I'm seeing a lot of fuss about HATE, mostly negative. Why's this one such a high profile release, are CMoN a well known/established publisher?

CMoN are a very well known publisher
they are the ones behind massive darkness, krosmaster, zombicide, arcadia quest, xenoshyft, and many other games.

though in this case I think it's mostly Hate feels like it's trying way to hard to be edgy, and doesn't look like it has very good game design to go with it.

trapperkreeper · Jan 17, 2018

My next kickstarter is probably The Scarlett Pimpernel from Eagle Gryphyn, and I am considering tokyo metro

Deleted member 733 · Jan 17, 2018

Gloomhaven is back in stock for preorders on Miniature Market. I highly recommend it if you're remotely interested, since at minimum you can probably get the same value for resale if you hate it after a few missions.

Rolento · Jan 17, 2018

Anyone play the new Keplar 2084929484939... Whatever the number is? Curious how it plays in solo.

BassForever · Jan 17, 2018

Tiny Epic Zombies will be up on KS tomorrow kinda interested love the TE series

derFeef · Jan 17, 2018

Would you folks recommend Epic PVP or Smash Up as a themed kinda entry level deck/shuffle building game?
Or something different?

Sober · Jan 17, 2018

Anyone have any experience with Paladin card sleeves and their quality? A LGS near me had them come in stock. I've been trying to get ahold of more sleeves for irregular card sizes but everyone in the area is out of stock for stuff like 65x100 Mayday sleeves (don't care to pay marked up prices or shipping that costs as much as a pack), so I'm tempted to grab some and just re-sleeve all of 7 Wonders for instance (and I bought the expansions too).

KJ869 · Jan 17, 2018

That nemesis looks good. I like that they say in latest update that theyre focused on content not the minis but whole campaign page is focused on looks

Modest Mauser · Jan 17, 2018

Blizzard said:
Gloomhaven is back in stock for preorders on Miniature Market. I highly recommend it if you're remotely interested, since at minimum you can probably get the same value for resale if you hate it after a few missions.

I've been loving Gloomhaven but it sucks if you can't get a group to meet regularly to play. There's an astounding amount of content but it takes a while to unlock much of it.

ChrisR · Jan 17, 2018

Modest Mauser said:
I've been loving Gloomhaven but it sucks if you can't get a group to meet regularly to play. There's an astounding amount of content but it takes a while to unlock much of it.

I actually said let's not try to do more than 3 or 4 scenarios a week, my first character is going to have to retire soon :(

alundra311 · Jan 17, 2018

Mandos said:
Anybody try the Legend of Zelda version of clue? The retheme seems fun, and I need a few more... traditional hooks for my collection and the theme is another great hook

Wow! Would love to hear how this plays. If you do get it, please post impressions. Especially on how it differs from the original.

Mandos · Jan 17, 2018

alundra311 said:
Wow! Would love to hear how this plays. If you do get it, please post impressions. Especially on how it differs from the original.

Well, I can tell you the basic, instead of finding a murder solution, you are trying to discover the weapon that will allow a hero to defeat Ganondorf in his lair somewhere in Hyrule. And the map is based off of Ocorina of time

alundra311 · Jan 17, 2018

Mandos said:
Well, I can tell you the basic, instead of finding a murder solution, you are trying to discover the weapon that will allow a hero to defeat Ganondorf in his lair somewhere in Hyrule. And the map is based off of Ocorina of time

Thanks!

Would love to get it but I see it's only for the US sadly (from the Philippines). Hopefully, a shop here picks it up. We did get the Super Mario Monopoly.

Mollymauk · Jan 17, 2018

Blizzard said:
Gloomhaven is back in stock for preorders on Miniature Market. I highly recommend it if you're remotely interested, since at minimum you can probably get the same value for resale if you hate it after a few missions.

Looks like it's already out :(

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