There is an idea forming in my head of using the mage knight aventure map with the gloomhaven combat system.
Obviously issues being one is fighting armies and the other is individuals.
Played Puerto Rico last week, big thumbs up. Headed to this week’s meetup now
You should see a doctor about that.
Played the new upgraded version of Citadels last night, with all the new roles and new unique buildings and it was… kinda confusing but OK? I like the idea of having multiple variants for each role (for example, there are now 3 military roles, only one of which is used in each game) but with so much variety, it becomes kind of a mess for new or new-ish players. Also, in order to distinguish the roles, many of the roles have some pretty weird powers, like the Witch, or fiddly powers like the Seer. But it was still at least somewhat enjoyable.
I feel about the new Citadels much like I feel about Smash Up: there’s some fun to be had there, but only if everyone at the table knows all or most of the cards.
Originally there was an expansion with an alternate role for every number - I wasn’t aware of an upgraded version, but I guess they must have added another expansion worth of roles? I’m normally a fan of that sort of variety but the alternates in the expansion were a very mixed bag and didn’t seem super balanced overall. Not a fan of the Witch, for example.
F U autocorrect!!!
I really like Citadels, but I’ve never played with a group that didn’t include at least one new player, so we’ve never branched out from the default roles. I really wish I had a regular enough gaming group to at least try the rest.
Yeah, I have that version. I selectively swap out one or two roles. Some are better, some worse, but most have seen the table.
But I had noticed that there was a rerelease recently. Not inclined to get it. My worn box still gets use as a decent quick filler game.
We finally got Terraforming Mars to the table tonight. Was the only game I was able to play cause it went 2.5 hours. Definitely cool. Gonna look to play it with Venus expansion in the future,
Hold off on the Venus expansion until you’ve played the base game a few times and figured out the basic strategies. Venus is fine, but it is one of those expansions that doesn’t change the game, it just adds variety. You don’t need it until you’re feeling that you’ve kind of played the base game out. (The alternate maps are the same story).
Of course, for me the base game felt played out after about three games, but my game group still loves it, so what do I know.
I think the Hellas & Elysium map expansion for Terraforming Mars is a far better expansion than Venus. Two new maps with new milestones and awards offers a lot of variety without lengthening or complicating the game. Venus Next does have some pretty cool cards, and I would have been fine with them just adding new Venus cards, but the additional mechanics IMO just add complexity and delay to the game without actually enhancing the gameplay. Specifically, although Venus Next makes terraforming happen faster, all the new options bog the game down. Perhaps if the whole table were well versed in both base TM and Venus Next, it would be a small issue.
OTOH, I’m definitely in the camp of “not every expansion is worth it.” That seems obvious to me but many gamers in my group seem obsessive about not just buying all the expansions to everything but also playing with them.
Some expansions improve the base game (Scoundrels of Skullport for Lords of Waterdeep, or Valhalla for Champions of Midgard) while others IMO add more “stuff” (which almost always translates to delay) without enhancing the game (Clank!'s underwater expansion or the Mountains expansion for Champions of Midgard come to mind).
I just threw up in my mouth a little.
Ha ha, you’re playing boardgames nearly as old as Monopoly! Although I’m sure Puerto Rico holds up. Solid design, even though plenty of games have borrowed the concept of selecting offices. I love the “screw your neighbor” aspect of the shipping stuff.
A four? Does anyone have the four? No one? No four? A five? Does anyone have the five? Does anyone have the six? Wait, you both do? Oh, you have the five? But you have the six? I already said five. He has the three. Wait, you have the two? But three already went while you were checking your cell phone, we’re on six, we can’t back up to two.
Me and @Brooski have one copy of Citadels between us. We take great pains to make sure the other person gets stuck with it. I believe it is currently in his possession.
And just a reminder that you’re not playing Terraforming Mars unless you’re drafting cards, which is listed in the rules book as a “variant”. For a handful of reasons, the game is lessened without drafting.
-Tom
I rarely buy expansions, at least for physical games. There’s a couple I intend to buy but haven’t got round to yet, but generally I’d rather spend my gaming budget on a new game than an expansion. Hell, I haven’t even gone beyond the base game in Android: Netrunner.
I also tend not to buy DLC, which may be related, but I’ve definitely bought more DLC than I have board game expansions.
Well no wonder, you’re playing the turns backwards!
Oh awesome! I hope it connects for you as it did for me – although as I said (in one of our boardgaming threads) I ended up selling my Z-Man edition of RC and buying the 2nd Edition. The clearer rules in the 2nd made all the difference.
It’s a brutally tough game, but fun even when you’re losing (it takes on an almost comic tone at that point of “What ELSE now?!?!”) I’ve won the initial Castaways scenario a couple of times and have won Cannibal Island once, and lost Swiss Family Robinson twice.
I know it’s a taboo for some here, but one other thing that helped were the Watch It Played videos, both the rules rundown and their first game.
Gah!
You’re putting various containers of liquid on that table just to troll me, aren’t you? The only thing missing is a goblet.
-Tom
Played Terraforming Mars last weekend. Someone spilled a soda onto some of the cards…I forced myself into a face a passitvity. Only one card slightly warped. So not so bad…
BTW, I did find getting the Robinson Crusoe rules down to second nature (which is sooooo much easier with the new rules, which, btw, are downloadable for earlier edition owners) was really the barrier to me enjoying the game. I’ve kind of binged on it the last few weeks when I had some spare gaming time, and once you knock that barrier down, it’s like “OH! Now I get why people who love this game really love this game!” It really is a lovely set of rules that fit together nicely.
Caught me… Wanted to give you guys a laugh, and to say this thread has brought me back to board games after a long hiatus.