I think the appeal is pretty different, so that people potentially have space for both. The draw here is the characters, and playing through the scenarios with different combinations of them. It's definitely more pickup and play than Arkham.
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Board Gaming Era |OT| (Mostly) Unplugged Gaming
- Thread starter XShagrath
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I think the appeal is pretty different, so that people potentially have space for both. The draw here is the characters, and playing through the scenarios with different combinations of them. It's definitely more pickup and play than Arkham.
Yeah, that could certainly be the case and I can see where it will be easier to get to the table than Arkham LCG. Deck construction is not a strong suit of mine, so I'll have to rely on websites for that kind of stuff I do decide to plunge into it. Also, an I have no reason to think this (other than for accessability reasons) but I think MC might be easier to play/win.
I'd assume the base difficulty will be generally easier than Arkham, mostly because the IP has a much wider general appeal. There are apparently a few ways to increase difficulty in the game, though, for players that want more challenge.
So as we near the holidays, I am looking for some feedback in terms of which board games are family friendly for people that don't play board games often. I don't have the time nor the budget for all of these listed below. I am looking for stuff that isn't too too complicated. Tiny Epic Zombies is the most complicated game that has seen success. Short play sessions are always appreciated as well. King of Tokyo, Pandemic, Risk, and Ticket to Ride are the favorites so take that information as you will. If you have any thoughts on any of the games below or if you have other recommendations I am all ears.
- High Society
- Forbidden Desert (or Island, but the desert theme seems neater)
- Sub Terra
- The Bloody Inn
- Monster Slaughter
- Horrified
- Jaws
- It: Evil Below
- Zombicide: Black Plague
- Azul
- Sagrada
- Reef
I can absolutely recommend High Society. Ridiculously easy to teach (Seriously, bid for cards valued 1-10, most points wins, BUT least money left is disqualified. Oh yeah, and you have to bid NOT to take negative effect cards - hope you still have money left!) It's been a hit with non-boardgamers for me. It showcases Reiner Knizia's mastery of elegant rules. The new release's art is great to look at, too.
This is why there needs to be a 'like' or 'thumbs up' button for posts. Amazing post, great info for me! I think i would like both Operational and Stocks/Shares style games. I'll probably start with making the 1889 game, get 1861/1867 and if I like 1889 maybe get 1830 (isn't this the one by Francis Tresham) and 1846. And also look into 1817 - your description makes it sound bonkers!
I recommend Splendor, though you don't have that on your list. I think its $20 on Amazon right now, and its real easy to get into, but still a lot of tough choices on your turn.
The only one I have on your list is Azul, but I haven't played it yet. Its always a best seller on Amazon so I'm sure it'll be great.
Other games for consideration -
7 Wonders
Barenpark
For Sale
Kingdomino
Railways of the World (my favourite game - really easy to play, and great for board game days, as its big and grand, needs a big table though.)
From your list, I would recommend Horrified, Azul, and High Society. Especially Azul (the first one). To me it's one of the best family friendly game. It's fun, easy to teach and play, and has enough depth that you'll probably want to play it often.
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My Wyrmwood tabletop tiles arrived today! Lovely quality and the magnets work really well to snap them together. I have one with a leather bottom that functions as a small dice rolling tray, which works well enough for a few dice if you don't roll too hard. The other ones are all component holders, with coasters on the back. I was hoping I could fit all the ingredients from Quacks in them, but that was before I got the upgraded bits. Still, these will be useful for lots of different games, and they're stackable when they're not in use. I got one of the cheapest wood options, but they still look and feel very nice.
Those are beautiful and so neat
My Wyrmwood tabletop tiles arrived today! Lovely quality and the magnets work really well to snap them together. I have one with a leather bottom that functions as a small dice rolling tray, which works well enough for a few dice if you don't roll too hard. The other ones are all component holders, with coasters on the back. I was hoping I could fit all the ingredients from Quacks in them, but that was before I got the upgraded bits. Still, these will be useful for lots of different games, and they're stackable when they're not in use. I got one of the cheapest wood options, but they still look and feel very nice.
Megacity finally came. Been waiting forever on this one. I'm AWFUL at dexterity games but I love them anyway
I wish I hadn't only spotted this at Essen like 30 minutes before closing time on our last day. Looked really cool and I'd have loved to try it out.
My goal is a Halloween play but not sure. I'll post impressions
My Wyrmwood tabletop tiles arrived today! Lovely quality and the magnets work really well to snap them together. I have one with a leather bottom that functions as a small dice rolling tray, which works well enough for a few dice if you don't roll too hard. The other ones are all component holders, with coasters on the back. I was hoping I could fit all the ingredients from Quacks in them, but that was before I got the upgraded bits. Still, these will be useful for lots of different games, and they're stackable when they're not in use. I got one of the cheapest wood options, but they still look and feel very nice.
Looks good. I ordered from their site, but since I didn't back their kickstarter I'll have to wait until June for my delivery. Only ordered 5 tiles since they're not cheap.
Hey board gamers of Era, new here! Big board gaming fan ever since I was a little girl, started when I was 8 so going on 27 years now! Mainly into euro games but I enjoy a bit of everything! Gaia Project, Die Macher, Brass, Puerto Rico and TI/Eclipse are my favorites. Glad to know there's a healthy BG community here on Era.
Ikea has some really cheap cork coasters that are fantastic low cost alternatives if you're looking for some more:
Ikea has some really cheap cork coasters that are fantastic low cost alternatives if you're looking for some more:
Let me know how that is. Also does it have any text you need to be able to read during game?
I know, right? I thought Terra Mystica was already nearly perfect but I didn't expect them to manage to improve upon it to such an extent. The game is essentially flawless!
My first time playing took forever and we did a few things wrong but man, I love it at any player count by 3 seems to be the best for me. Not too long and more of the map being used for those power effects.
Terra has some expansions, I wonder if there ever will be one for Gaia Project but I don't think it really needs them.
Someday my copy of TI4 will be played. Don't know if I'm ready for that. Not playing my own copy is also the reason I won't be bothering with Europa Universalis.
Judging by the TM expansions, it'll be a while before we see GP expanded but it'll happen. I preffer it this way, so a long enough amount of time has passed for the devs to figure out what needs to/can be added/changed! But I agree that it doesn't really need any expansions, much like TM (aside from the passing order board which you can just add to the base game without even getting the expansion anyway).
TI can be troublesome... games can last as "little" as 6 hours but I've had games go on for 15~16 hours (meal breaks included) before with the longest ever game I played lasting for slightly over 19 hours (meal breaks also included). I love it to death and always make sure to make at least two or three matches happen per year but it can be a grueling experience sometimes. Good luck teaching the game to your fellow players! :D
Hey board gamers of Era, new here! Big board gaming fan ever since I was a little girl, started when I was 8 so going on 27 years now! Mainly into euro games but I enjoy a bit of everything! Gaia Project, Die Macher, Brass, Puerto Rico and TI/Eclipse are my favorites. Glad to know there's a healthy BG community here on Era.
Ikea has some really cheap cork coasters that are fantastic low cost alternatives if you're looking for some more:
Oh, that's a neat tip!
Jesus!
I have one friend who I play everything with. She'd try it but honestly it's something I'd rather do with the max player count. ive played it twice but it was really more of a learning game at the time. Also the person showing me wasn't the best at teaching.
I also own War of the Ring which I really wanna try playing some day. Now that's going to take me time. Ive been trying it alone in order to better understand it.
I haven't played yet but I organized it. It has text, not a ton, but its required to know what your goal or reward is
Horrified is easily my family's "game of the year". We have played it 20ish times in the past 2 months. This included a day where we played many games over 4hrs in a single sitting.
So I'm still slowing moving through Street Masters and organising everything. I've finished sorting out the core box, Aftershock expansion and associated stretch goals. I haven't opened the other expansions or Redemption packs yet, at least other than to make sure everything is there and not damaged. There is honestly so much content that I've been thinking I might actually sell the smaller expansions and Redemption packs. It is going to take a long time to experience even a small percentage of the content across the core, Aftershock and stretch goals.
As for other purchases, Marvel Champions: The Card Game arrived yesterday and I'm expecting my Nemesis Intruder (All-in) pledge on Tuesday pending any delays caused by the Public Holiday. Cthulhu: Death May Die and Deep Madness: Faces of the Sphere are also not far behind judging by their recent Kickstarter updates. I'm in Australia for those wondering.
As for other purchases, Marvel Champions: The Card Game arrived yesterday and I'm expecting my Nemesis Intruder (All-in) pledge on Tuesday pending any delays caused by the Public Holiday. Cthulhu: Death May Die and Deep Madness: Faces of the Sphere are also not far behind judging by their recent Kickstarter updates. I'm in Australia for those wondering.
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So I'm still slowing moving through Street Masters and organising everything. I've finished sorting out the core box, Aftershock expansion and associated stretch goals. I haven't opened the other expansions or Redemption packs yet, at least other than to make sure everything is there and not damaged. There is honestly so much content that I've been thinking I might actually sell the smaller expansions and Redemption packs. It is going to take a long time to experience even a small percentage of the content across the core, Aftershock and stretch goals.
Marvel Champions: The Card Game arrived yesterday and I'm expecting my Nemesis Intruder (All-in) pledge on Tuesday pending any delays caused by the Public Holiday. Cthulhu: Death May Die and Deep Madness: Faces of the Sphere are also not far behind judging by their recent Kickstarter updates. I'm in Australia for those wondering.
If all the Street Masters stuff truly fits in the Aftershock big box then I'll be happy with all the stuff.
What I am not a fan of is having a bunch of separate boxes for one game and then busting them out for game night and polling the group on which ones we're going to include.
At least with Street Masters it's super easy to pick a stage, enemy, and then your fighters and go, no matter how much stuff you've got, setup is a breeze.
I wanna preorder some stuff for the rest of the year. Anyone got a good release list? It's so hard to find when stuff comes out. I'd love to just go down a list With box art on what's coming between now and end of the year to see what grabs me
just go to Coolstuff, go to the preorder tab at the top, filter by boardgames, then sort by release date.
Games That I Said Farewell To in 2019:
I thought I'd try something different from the endless pickup posts and talk about games I sold or traded. Hope they found a good home!
Troyes
Warhammer Quest: The Adventure Card Game
Tokaido
Tigris & Euphrates
Sid Meier's Civilization: A New Dawn
Rattus
Kingdomino + Queendomino
Patchwork
Onitama
Machi Koro
Lord of the Rings LCG
Legacy: The Testament of Duke de Crecy
Kingdom Builder
Keyflower
Imperial
Hostage Negotiator
Holding On
Greenland
Glory to Rome
Flash Point
Expedition Northwest Passage
Ex Libris
Eminent Domain
Dead of Winter: The Long Night
Cuba Libre
Carcassonne Hunters and Gatherers
Bios: Megafauna
Battle for Rokugan
Antike II
Quo Vadis
Food Chain Magnate
Power Grid
Agricola All Creatures Big and Small
I like this idea!
Games That I Said Farewell To in 2019:
I thought I'd try something different from the endless pickup posts and talk about games I sold or traded. Hope they found a good home!
Troyes
Warhammer Quest: The Adventure Card Game
Tokaido
Tigris & Euphrates
Sid Meier's Civilization: A New Dawn
Rattus
Kingdomino + Queendomino
Patchwork
Onitama
Machi Koro
Lord of the Rings LCG
Legacy: The Testament of Duke de Crecy
Kingdom Builder
Keyflower
Imperial
Hostage Negotiator
Holding On
Greenland
Glory to Rome
Flash Point
Expedition Northwest Passage
Ex Libris
Eminent Domain
Dead of Winter: The Long Night
Cuba Libre
Carcassonne Hunters and Gatherers
Bios: Megafauna
Battle for Rokugan
Antike II
Quo Vadis
Food Chain Magnate
Power Grid
Agricola All Creatures Big and Small
Was wondering if you would expand on why you decided to part with some of the games.
Specifically:
Warhammer Quest
LotR LCG
Battle For Rokugan
OP
OP
Let me know how you like Final Hour. From watching some reviews, it seems pretty divisive. I'm a huge fan of the Arkham Files, but I don't know how well the theme comes across in this, or how engaging the gameplay is.
Oh yeah, I could go into specifics. It's not always because I dislike the games. Sometimes it's because a game is selling for a lot (like Glory to Rome), or I need the shelf space despite liking the game.
In the case of those games:
Warhammer Quest: I like this game more than its older cousin, Death Angel. Both are tough, but this game gives you more options and is just more entertaining. But FFG killed this particular version (relaunched as Heroes of Terrinoth) and it could have really used some expansions. I happened to have the two rare expansion characters, so it sold for a lot.
LotR LCG: I got it primarily for solo play, and to feed a strong LOTR hunger I got into last year. I bought four out of the 6(!) big box expansions needed to play a campaign of the LOTR books. It's a good game, but it works better if you two-hand it (use two decks and alternate between two hands). That alone is a little annoying. But it turned out to be way too hard for me. Unloaded it before they announced Marvel LCG, which might be more up my alley in terms of difficulty.
Battle for Rokugan: This one is pretty decent, IMO, but ultimately I could live without it. You want a lot of players for it (which I managed to play once), and it's got a lot of twists and turns while being very easy to play. This is a good 'wargame' for a more casual crowd, which is cool but not my current gaming situation. The only thing I didn't like about it is that the orientalism of L5R overall is pretty lame.
Oh man I have so many questions too... Machi Koro? Patchwork? Whyyyyy
Haha
I actually LOVE Patchwork, it's an excellent game. The problem is, I got it as a gift and it seems that it was a bootleg copy from Amazon - the tiles just didn't fit together properly and it was hard to play. Avoid buying from Amazon! I'll catch up with this game somewhere down the line.
Machi Koro is a game that I like, but a little too long/imbalanced/mean for what it is. The fixes that they've come up with aren't perfect, either. I feel like that game was the best when it was new, no expansion stuff, and you used the Dominion-style card piles as the setup (as opposed to a random market). But people complained about a dominant strategy, it got "fixed", which broke other things, and so on. Sad, but I passed on it.
I actually LOVE Patchwork, it's an excellent game. The problem is, I got it as a gift and it seems that it was a bootleg copy from Amazon - the tiles just didn't fit together properly and it was hard to play. Avoid buying from Amazon! I'll catch up with this game somewhere down the line.
Machi Koro is a game that I like, but a little too long/imbalanced/mean for what it is. The fixes that they've come up with aren't perfect, either. I feel like that game was the best when it was new, no expansion stuff, and you used the Dominion-style card piles as the setup (as opposed to a random market). But people complained about a dominant strategy, it got "fixed", which broke other things, and so on. Sad, but I passed on it.
Can't decide between Clank! and Clank! In! Space!
Seems like alot of people say that CIS is the better of the two?
Seems like alot of people say that CIS is the better of the two?
So hoping for some opinions on Wingspan. I have a copy on hold but am a little hesitant as I just got dinosaur island and my wife and I were really underwhelmed and I'm concerned that wingspan will seem really similar. Is Wingspan really as good as people say?
So I was always looking into LCG Ashes: Rise of the Phoenixborne but never bought it. I know the game is canceled, but that won't get in my way to casually enjoy it with the pre-made decks. Got a fantastic deal at fantasywelt who sold the german core game for 13€ and both deluxe expansions for 6€. I am eager to try it out this weekend with my wife.
I haven't played Clank in Space, but I think they're quite similar except that Clank in Space has a modular board. I'd just pick one based on which theme you prefer. Alternatively, you could get Clank Legacy if you have a regular game group.
I bought it but after a couple of plays I was done with. Ultimately shallow as a puddle- the is all show, no content. The cards are so similar once you've seen a few architypes you've seen them all. Then the game mostly plays out the same way after that- find a way to put out birds and as many eggs as possible for points. It's a SM game so it's got it's ardent supporters. If you were to slap another publishers label on it and it wouldn't receive half as many positive reviews.
I used to own both and I think Clank is the superior game- CiS over stays its welcome. The faction cards are generally terrible as well as you can't modify the river to generate cards that combo. It's then down to luck if they will be there on your turn.
Edit: Just realised how horribly negative this entire post is. Here is something positive:- I played Kanban last night. Kanban is awesome, go play it.
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This was my fear with wingspan to be honest.Like I said we were really let down by dinosaur island for basically the same reasons.
Lol, you know what? Tell the world if they want me to keep these games, then keep them relevant by talking about them and playing them (with me).
I love Imperial, but I didn't get it to the table for like 2 years. It's an 'ancient' game by some people's standards.
FCM, on the other hand, I fell out of love with. The milestones swing the game way too much.
I best not tell you about the expansion or you'll be kicking yourself.
