I suggest a strict “game conversation only” policy during Arkham Horror, or you might end up with an eight hour game every time. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it’s hard to keep things going that long.
If you want to try out a quick little game, Ticket to Ride can be played for free online by joining someone’s game. It’s quite addictive. Or it will be if you find you like it.
In the traditional circuit, it cannot be overstated how much cooler Risk is when you’re playing on Middle Earth. (We still play with the normal Earth rules)
From what I understand, Shadows Over Camelot has a good reputation as a traitor game. I keep wishing I had enough 3+ player situations to make it worthwhile.
I find it fun because it’s such a challenge. I like that the game is imbalanced, more games should be imbalanced in fact. I much prefer that kind of game to something where something is so balanced that no matter how well you play, the game reigns you back in and gives everyone else a chance to catch up. Euros have so much to answer for.
Interesting. Do you find the Battlestar game to be a superior version of the traitor mechanic? I was drawn by the “quest + treason” aspect. Are there any other traitor games (apart from the absurdly overpriced/highly polarizing Betrayal at House on the Hill) that deal with that shortcoming?
I ask because I’m fascinated by the traitor idea, and even tried figuring out a way to make use of Arkham Horror’s incredibly broken single card traitor option.
Plus the completely non traitor (AFAIK) but quest oriented Arabian Nights has yet again been pushed back, leaving me with nothing new to think about at the moment.
I’ve recently gotten into board games and have my buddies over every few months to play something. I’ve most recently picked up Descent and I’m going to play that today, and I ordered Prophecy from ebay yesterday - which I’m looking forward to. I’d also like to pick up Conflict of Heroes at some point.
I currently own-
Warcraft the Board Game
World of Warcraft Board Game (Plus both expansions)
Talisman 4th Edition
Runebound
Blood Bowl (2nd Edition)
and some of my friends and I played a lot of Advanced Space Crusade and Space Hulk when we were in high school, which was a blast.
It’s been a while since I’ve bought or played new games.
With my fathers death that part of the game playing dies, and my own kids aren’t old enough yet. I do however have friends, I’m playing more and more games with. But excuse me if my list is old school or contains out of print games:
Junta
Bezzerwizzer (it’s a Danish try at TPs throne, but with a bit more game to go along with the trivia part - ie you do more to your opponents and actual game the categories and points)
Eufrat and Tigris
Munchkin
Illuminati (I know it’s really a CCG, but we never really played it as such and it works just as well as a standalone game using cards instead of a board)
What’s funny is that you must have been playing the classics. Almost all the games you’ve mentioned have been rereleased in the past 5 years including:
Junta - never played, but I picked it up.
Eufrat and Tigris - The new version as I understand it includes a new board (as well as the original).
Settlers - new 5th edition by mayfair has been released along with the new traders and barbarians expansion.
Roborally- Hasbro came out with a nice rendition that has nice bit.
When you decide to plunge back into boardgaming, check out boardgamegeek. You’ll be pleasantly surprised how far the games have come.
Starcraft:TBG is done by the guys who did Twilight Imperium and Game of Thrones. I think it does a good job of polishing the game mechanics that made those games great while staying true to subject matter. It also scales well - a solid game for 3-4 that can handle 5-6 without much trouble.
Agricola is my #1 recommendation. That game has tremendous replay value and scales perfectly to be fun for anywhere from 2-5 players.
I also recently played some Pizzaro and Co., which is an interesting auction game, and Age of Gods, which is kind of like a combination of Risk and Illuminati - you are trying to conquer territory, but you are sure what all your goals are, and you want to keep them secret from the other players as well.
Thanks.
Lorini allready gave me that advice last time around. She even pointed out some fellow Danes there, that I could try to beg to let me into their game groups… I just haven’t had the time (to play or familiarize myself with such a huge forum full of interesting stuff)
World of Warcraft (2,4,6 players)
Fun but very long. Our last play, with both expansions, took us (4 players) almost 12 hours from unpack to pack up. That’s ridiculous. We’re not the fastest players, but we certainly kept it moving along and didn’t take a break. It should also be known that most of the game can be played, and usually is, without any conflict or interaction with the other side (Horde/Alliance). The game has over 1000 bits.
Twilight Imperium
Another game by FFG, and another one that takes too long to play. While also very fun, much of the game setup and some of the optional rules, can put players so far behind early in the game that they have little chance to win. Not good when playing a 10+ hour game. Our last play, with only the first expansion, took almost 12 hours from unpack to pack up.
I’ve played a LOT of FFG games. All of them follow a common theme. All of their games are fun, have lots of cool bits (most have plastic models), but a lot of their games take a VERY long to play. Their rules are usually full of holes, but they usually have FAQs online.
We played through BSG at Unity Games this weekend, and it was fantastic. You can get a flavor for how it played out over in this thread. The traitor mechanic in BSG works well in part because it is entirely possible for there not to be a traitor in the first half of the game. It is integrated into the BSG setting, but one of our players had never seen the show, and still loved it.
DAK2 is great, even though I personally prefer Hube’s Pocket from the Operational Combat System series. The Gamers generally has a lot of excellent games, including some more “lightweight” ones, such as the small but funny Circus Minimus game.
In the not so geeked department, me and the family (kids aged 10 and 12) are currently playing a lot of Puerto Rico. It’s a 60-90 minutes game with a difficulty pretty similar to Settlers.
One of my current favorites is Starfarers of Catan. It has the same production and victory point mechanics of Settlers but also just enough new rules and the space setting that make it feel like a fresh game. The components and board are really good looking and fun to fiddle with, especially your plastic space ship, which serves as both determining your movement/encounters for the turn and holding what upgrades you’ve purchased.
My absolute favorite right now, though is Traders of Genoa from Rio Grande. A completely elegant and almost ‘pure’ trading game. Nearly every playing piece, component, chit and card is able to be offered in trades, other than the piece that shows the ‘trader’s’ physical location in the city and the dice you rold to determine his starting position. Negotiations for limited actions are freewheeling with the right mindset of player and the underlying mechanics encourage players to be a part of as many trades as possible.
I think the game is out of print right now but still easy to find. I believe it’s getting a reprint sometime this year and, although it’s a personal preference, I much prefer the original artwork artwork to that of the reprint.
If you enjoy deal-making, I can’t recommend this game enough.
Going to finally get a chance to try Conflict of Heroes and the Axis and Allies Anniversary edition this weekend. Been skimming the rules for Conflict and I really like what they’re doing. Seems like it could actually come close to the original squad leader in feel but more streamlined.
I belong to a couple of regular gaming groups and get to play a lot of games. Here’s what’s been hitting the table recently. These aren’t necessarily my favorite games, but just what I’ve wanted to play.
Galactic Emperor: Made by a Qt3 member! Kind of like a cross between TI3 and Puerto Rico (though TI3 is already like a cross between TI2 and Puerto Rico, but I digress). Plays relatively quickly, but even after ten or so games, I don’t think we’ve ever had a game in the 1-1/2 hour range the designer talks about. Great game though- possibly the best euro-american hybrid I’ve seen.
Planet Steam: Absurdly expensive and overproduced eurogame based on the old videogame M.U.L.E. I just got my copy in the mail a few weeks ago, and have managed to play three times. Honestly, I’m not sure how much I like it, or if I’ll keep it- it should be fairly easy to recoup most of the money I paid for it, as it’s rare and rather sought after at this point- I was pretty lucky to score a copy. It’s very math-heavy and rather obtuse to learn the first time out, but the play is interesting, and it’s very pretty to boot, with a nice theme (Steampunk FTW!)
In the category of games that I really, really want to play but haven’t yet, there’s Space Alert!, by the guy who did Galaxy Trucker. A fully cooperative game about running a space ship, that plays in approximately 10 minutes. Why isn’t this out in the states yet?!
