Reldan
3221
He exists to deter a “rush-to-eight-buildings” strategy from flat out working, as the only feasible way to do so would be to build a bunch of cheap buildings and then rely on the +4 and/or +3 end game bonuses to win it for you. Without the Warlord you’ll find that becomes the dominant strategy (like if you replace him with the Diplomat from the expansion).
Thanks. I’m going to have to end up buying both and making up my own mind, am I not? Oh, the horror. :)
Wendelius
geewhiz
3223
My family loves playing the game, so does the weekly game group I just joined. A lot of fun!
King of Tokyo by Richard Garfield (of M:TG fame) hits shelves today. Has anyone bought/played it? It looks like the perfect game for my group, since they prefer lighter games to heavier games. I like this game’s King of the Hill mechanic.
Been playing it for about a month now (bought from a retailer that imports) and find it to be a good light game. Think Yahtzee meets Godzilla. This is Beer and Pretzels fare, not a deep intellectual experience. Don’t bother with it two player though.
So, I played a game of Quarriors with the kids. My daughter won with 15 glory, my son had 12, and I had zero, bupkis, nada, zilch, bagels, doughnuts. Needless to say, I wasn’t especially pleased. Hoping to have better luck when we play again.
Is quarriors all gimmick and glitter for the new hotness or is the game actually good? Any reason to buy if I have Dominion and Thunderstone?
I doubt it, unless you are looking for a lighter game that is easier for friends to get into. It is a good match for me and the kids, and they don’t have to be constantly shuffling cards.
How young are the kids? I have a 6 year old that loves games. I am thinking about getting Sorry Sliders next for him, but Quarriors sounds like more fun for me.
Mine are teenagers. Quarriors has some strategy to it that would elude a six year old, but they could could certainly play with some help. They can roll the dice, count how many points they have to spend etc.
Xemu
3231
Played Quarriors tonight with our 7 and 10 year olds. The biggest problem is that kids that age like to fidget a lot, and there is a lot of game state held precisely in the faces of dice for a moderate period of time. Also where the various piles of dice are relative to one another is a pretty big piece of game state. Both of these things are extremely easy for kids to accidentally mess up.
That said, I quite enjoyed it. It doesn’t have the depth of Thunderstone or Dominion, but man is it nice to not have to shuffle all the time.
JM1
3232
Played 7 Wonders with GloriousMess and his Mrs. Thought it would be a game that would appeal to them both and so it proved - it doesn’t take long to teach someone the rules and from then on games are really quick. There’s enough strategy involved in the limited deck for it to suit more experienced players as well, but I think I’m still going to pick up the expansion just for more options.
If you regularly play with 4 I would suggest taking a look at Alien Frontiers. I think it’s a much sounder implementation of yahtzee mechanics with an interesting approach to counterbalancing other players. KoT just felt really abrupt, in a bad way, in terms of how much it is weighted towards pure chance. It’s the kind of thing that you would have to play a lot of times in order for any kind of balance of wins in favor of “better” players, and I don’t think it has enough meat to warrant that kind of relationship.
AF I’ve played with kids as young as ten (and he beat us, fair and square), and the rules take almost no time to teach.
The 7 Wonders expansion is pretty nice, nothing revolutionary but it does give you a few more tactical options if you have the misfortune of sitting next to That Guy who has the game figured out. I’ve only used it once, though, since there seems to be general 7 wonders fatigue among veteran players akin to that some of us felt about Dominion a while back.
So is Quarriors fun with adults, too?
I’ve got some friends who’re just getting into board games and the idea of a fun, fast, four-player-friendly deck-building dice game sounds pretty neat to me. But experience how shown me that most dice games are Yahtzee with a theme.
Kingsburg works great with a group of noobs like that. Alien Frontiers, too. Not saying they’re better than Quarriors for that purpose (my copy is still sitting in a warehouse), but I’ve had good luck with both.
Nephrinn
3236
I LOVE Alien Frontiers because it’s so easy to setup and teach, but still has plenty of depth and interesting decisions to make. Good luck getting a copy for less than MSRP ($60+) though as they made the boneheaded decision to cut out ALL online board game stores and sell only to local retailers. I’m so glad I was able to trade for it otherwise there’s no way I’d be able to get my hands on a copy now.
Well, I believe I’ve found my new Kryptonite today: A shop called Leisure Games in North London. O_o
I decided to pay it a visit at lunch time to check it out as I had heard decent things about it.
This is most of the board games on offer. Hundreds of them. Then there are card games, RP games section, dice, miniatures, … You name it. And the staff is friendly and helpful.
I must have spent 45 minutes just looking at random game boxes. Then I had a chat with the staff about a few games, including the upcoming Ankh Morpok Discworld game they had as a demo of on a table. We also chatted about the likes of Castle Ravenloft (hmmm), Smallworld (liked it), Memoir 44 (was tempted. It looks interesting), Britannia (not sure I can get the kids committed to a 3-5 hour game yet) and Tannhauser (still not sure it’s a game with a long term appeal though it looks really nice).
In the end, today was mainly about games I could play with the kids. So I came out with:
[ul][li] Mansions of Madness: season of the Witch: A new scenario to expand the game. It’s a popular one chez Wendelius
[/li][li] Steve Jackson’s Illuminati conspiracy game: I vaguely remember enjoying it with friends in the 80ies and my kids love card based games. We’ll see if it’s as entertaining as I (possibly wrongly) remember.
[/li][li] Smallworld: should be a good mix of world domination and avoiding frustration by letting the players pick a new civilisation
[/li][li] And a pre-order for Ankh Morpok, to be delivered next week. After chatting with the guy who had playtested it, it sounds like an entertaining take on the chaotic life and power struggles in the eponymous city[/ul]
[/li]
They also had the brand new Guards! Guards! game, but I thought that purchasing 2 Discworld games in one trip would be a bit much.
Needless to say I was a bit late coming back from my lunch…
All in all though, I probably better not go back too often. My wife is already frowning at my growing pile of games (It’s for the kids! says I). And I obviously can’t visit there without making it worse. Thoroughly recommended if you are in London though.
Wendelius
JM1
3238
Always meant to visit but I’d heard it had shut down! Glad it hasn’t. I usually go to the Orc’s Nest near Leicester Square - great selection but it’s tiny and a goddamn furnace.
Dune remake? I’ve heard Fantasy Flight has the rights to the Dune game (minus the Dune liscense) and are bringing it out under a different franchise. Just wondering if anyone knows if this is true and has anymore information?
Playin’ Games near the British Museum closed down. Sad as I loved that shop. I’ve been to Orc’s Nest before, but it’s been a while. I do remember it being tiny. And the staff is not always the most welcoming, depending on their mood.
Wendelius
