Hrm, not really. Well, maybe a bit like Kremlin, in the sense that everything is very moment-to-moment; you’re not going to get any long-term alliances. Unlike Kremlin (and more like RoR), though, it’s generally pretty clear what is in any given player’s best interest at the moment, so it’s not that easy to deceive someone about your intentions.
Negotiation games are not my thing, though, so who knows.
A new look at some of the upcoming Dawn of the Zeds expansions coming out this summer along with a reprint of the 3rd edition:
https://www.victorypointgames.com/news/zeds3-teaser3/
I gave in and picked up the 2nd ed of Darkest Night during that Miniature Market sale. It sure looks nice compared to my original copy! Won’t get much of a chance to play the next couple of weeks but looking forward to delving in soon.
Also bought Dungeon Alliance to try as a solo game since there’s no way it’d appeal to our small group. Mage Knight rubbed me the wrong way but hoping this will work out better based on what I’ve read.
Has anyone played Vengeance? I don’t remember where I first saw it mentioned and I don’t have a really reliable go-to place for reviews outside of Qt3 yet. Also not sure if this is retail released yet.
Anyway the idea and theme seem really cool. Curious if it lives up to the potential.
This week I bought the metal cubes and the acrylic overlays for Terraforming Mars from Top Shelf Gamer and played with them for the first time tonight. The overlays really do help manage the game and thr cubes have a nice heft. It made the game noticeably less fiddly. Plus the metal cubes are cool.
I may have to invest in more game bling for my favorite games…
Yeeees. Join us!
Played Wildcatters this week. It very good area control game disguised as an economic oil game.
I am hoping to have a chance to try some different board games at the upcoming Dice Tower Convention in Orlando.
One game I have never had the chance to play is Aeon’s End. I think there are three different sets now (with the third set a legacy option)? Does anyone have a suggestion which set they would try for their first time playing.
I have not had a chance to play any board games it the past year with our move to Florida and a new position at work. My son and I are going so looking to have some fun.
If you could pick one game you could play at a convention what would it be? I tend to play shorter games mostly (about 60 - 90 minutes) but usually try one long game if I am at a convention and can find an opening. Not sure which game that should be this time around.
The Legacy expansion isn’t out yet - the Kickstarter just ended like a month ago. Either standalone set (Aeon’s End base or War Eternal) would be functional as a starting point but you probably might as well pick up the base set since it’s older and more likely to go on sale, and the characters are a little more straightforward. There are also two addons released for each core set that add more challenging (and creative) bosses to take down and weirder hero characters, as well as more variety in terms of deckbuilding. And of course all of it’s compatible with everything, including the Legacy stuff when it comes out.
Yeah, the base set is just fine. It’s not really one of those games that gets better as it iterates and expands. What makes you curious about Aeon’s End?
As a deck-building engine, I find it interesting mechanically. But it doesn’t have much character at all. It’s actually kind of dry. And it’s got an unfortunate “uh, just make up your own level of challenge!” approach common among inexperienced designers. If you’re looking for something to play co-op, you and your son could do a lot better.
Do you mean your own games to bring to a convention to play with strangers? Or games someone else brings to a convention for you to learn and play while you’re there? I’m not really clear on what people do at boardgaming conventions these days. :)
-Tom
Bummed about Netrunner, and yeah, everything is selling out. I was planning on picking up the Flashpoint cycle and maybe just a couple choice packs in Red Sand but everything is evaporating pretty quickly. Not sure if FFG will reprint those.
Netrunnerdb’s current deck of the week is just meta commentary on the end of Netrunner
https://netrunnerdb.com/
I am fairly active in my regional convention, TotalCon. I have a longer post on my history and thoughts [here] (TotalCon 2018 Thoughts, and a Love Letter to Future Me – Mark Crump), but here is the TLDR version.
Around November each year I submit the games I want to run as events. While I am scaling back this year, my guiding principles are: is it a game I love that my regular games despises (Fury of Dracula), or a game that I can get quickly on the table and love (believe it or not, I can get Arkham Horror on the table in about 10-15 min), or games I just love, like Blood Rage. I’ve run Firefly at the con, but it takes up too much room, even with no expansions.
So, yeah, I bring my own games, set them up, teach people how to play them. There were a few years I was glad I decided to run the games since there wasn’t much offered I would want to play.
Next year I am scaling back since there were a a lot of games offered I wanted to play, and D&D organized play is much better than it was. I was too tired to run a lot of games this year, and wanted to be able to just play some other games. Last year I ran about 8 games, this year I am scaling down to 4, with one pick up game that will be off the books.
I love Aeon’s End! Still my favorite co-op. Tom’s crazy, it’s a great choice.
If I were going to a convention, I’d try and play Sidereal Confluence. It’s a huge asymmetric trading game that plays in about 2 hours. I’ve only played it with 5 and 6 players, but I’d love to try it at 9. You’d need a ton of players and a bunch of space, which I think conventions are great for. I think it’s one of those experiences you could probably only have at a con which is why it’d be what I would look for.
I have that game and I’m going to that con. Hmmmmmmmm
I am with @porousnapkin. I know Tom didn’t care fore Aeon’s End, but I love it. It is my favorite deck builder at the moment and has been for a good bit now. If I recall, Tom’s main issues were that he saw the enemies as bags of hit points, the game lacking theme, and the modular elements. I don’t fault him. The game does rely on central mechanics of all cards to either be damage or the buying resource. However, this is needed in order for any card to work with any other card. They game is super modular and as such all things work off manipulating those two things. How they do it and how the enemies twist those mechanics and player priorities are rather varied and (to me) are where the theme comes in. One Nemesis will be a big insect queen that fills the board with her brood creating a death of a million cuts if you are not careful. Another Nemesis thrives on corruption and doesn’t really involve combat but instead turns the player against his or herself. The modular element really makes the game special. I use random setups for the market and find it as engaging as a rogue like video game as I try to work with what the market gave me.
I highly recommend the game. I also think more stuff does add to the game as each expansion adds variation for the modular elements. For me, it is the best and most improved iteration of deck builder meets Sentinels of the Multiverse. Multiverse, to me, carries the theme more effectively with static hero decks, but also that makes the game more stale with repeat plays since you will be driving the same predictable engine each time.
Finally played Captain Sonar with some friends. Such a great game, and they were recounting a time they played a 4 v 4 game IN REAL TIME. I can’t even imagine the energy at the table.
It’s so great real time! There’s a big benefit to going fast, but a much bigger benefit to playing smart, which keeps the game from feeling overwhelming the way a lot of real-time games do. If you just play as fast as you can, you’re really likely to accidentally sink your own sub (I’ve been on a sub that’s done that like 5 times now!). I think the game ends up at a really reasonable pace, with players playing faster and causing accidents at dramatic moments, which is exactly how a sub game should work.
I suppose it is more about learning how to play games at the convention and some of those can be games that I own but have not had a chance to play.
I purchased Ethnos but still have not been able to play it. : )
Games I do not own but would love to try:
Scythe
Terraforming Mars
Blood Rage
Aeon’s End
The reason I asked about Aeon’s End is that I read good things about it on QT3 and BGG.
Thanks @Chaplin & @porousnapkin for your insight.
Do you like Portugal?
Do you like the puzzles?
Do you like laughing at your friends suffering from AP and can you handle when they laugh at your AP?
Do you like the smell of burning rubber?
If so, I present Madeira.
The game has been sitting on my shelf for 7 months untouched. I was intimidated by it based on what I had heard, but more importantly it was finding the right group to try it with. After sitting down with it, I found mechanically it isn’t that difficult to grasp, but the decisions are sheer gut wrenching pleasure.
This may be the best game published by What’s your game. Honestly they’re all pretty good, but man this game makes me question every decision. Even when you think it will be simple move and you have a plan. The game makes you stop and think about the next 3 moves. Cannot recommend this game enough if you like heavy games.