5141

Had I been around to appreciate these games 20-30 years ago, I’m sure I’d be a lot more receptive to the concept of expansion packs. Not so much anymore. I guess it’s a video game thing.

5142

I played my first full game of Through the Ages last weekend (pro tip: 1AM is totally the best time to start a 3 player full game of Through the Ages) and now I must play more. Sadly, it’s kinda hard to convince people to set aside the time to play it so I looked into online options and there is a pretty decent web implementation at boardgaming-online.com that a lot of BGG users play with.

I figured I’d check to see if anyone here wanted to get in on a 4 player game. The game is even playable on a smartphone browser but you probably want to do the first turn or two on a desktop to get a feel for the interface. It’s actually pretty good, with a chat section and a private note so you can remind yourself what you were thinking when you took such and such card yesterday.

If you’re interested, head over there and make an account and then just post your account name here. I’ll start up a game and invite people. I’d like 4 players so if we get less than that I might leave it open to the public to fill in. Since TtA can last a while I’m hoping we can agree to check in a few times a day. You can also have the site email notify you when it is your turn and being able to play from a phone should help.

5143

The aliens are all awesome. The additional decks that each expansion adds are completely optional so it’s just a question of whether you feel you’ll enjoy using them.

5144

Advanced Civilization - handles eight. Downside it is out of print and costs a fortune, and the other is that it takes rather a long time to actually play. 3-8.

Diplomacy - seven. Technically, you can play with less, but you don’t really want to. Like Civ, takes a long time to play. Play with people you may not want to play games with in the future (or don’t have their feelings hurt too easily).

Nuns on the Run - kind of like Scotland Yard in hidden movement with players seeking to find others. Plays fairly quick and the more the merrier. 2-8.

Pow-Wow - 3-8 players. You know what numbers everyone else has on their forehead, you just don’t know yours. Liar’s dice like in that you keep bidding higher until someone calls. No actual board, I suppose.

Plus all the others previously mentioned.

5145

Here I Stand is my favorite board game by a substantial margin. You have made a very wise choice.

Also, if you like Here I Stand, GMT is about to release the sequel by the same designer, Virgin Queen. It covers the period immediately after, focusing on Elizabeth in England, the Spanish Armada, and the Protestant movements in the Netherlands and France. I’ve had the opportunity to play in a playtest game six months or so ago, and it looks like another winner.

5146

The chance that I will actually get to play it is… somewhat small.

5147

I’ve played a handful of games over there a while ago. Account name “Nathan Scott”. The catch for me is I can pretty much guarantee I won’t be checking during your typical work day hours EST (though I’m fairly responsive outside of that), so I dunno if that’s as frequent as you are looking for…

5148

I’ve been very tempted to pick up Here I Stand for awhile but haven’t. However, I got into the P500 for Virgin Queen. Do you know what I’ll be missing I play Virgin Queen and pass on Here I Stand?

I’m getting interested in GMT’s games more than ever before. I got Sekigahara but have yet to try it out. I got into the P500 for No Retreat: North Africa since No Retreat: Russian Front is the best game of its type I’ve played in decades. A friend has preordered Andean Abyss - we really enjoyed Labyrinth.

5149

The playing time listed for “Here I Stand” is 360 minutes (6 hours??). Usually the author is very conservative on playtime, but … 6 hours? How long has it taken those who have played it?

6 hours???

5150

I’ve heard nine. Can’t wait.

5151

Yeah, sorry, as a guy who’s played a couple twelve hour Advanced Civilization games (I knew I had lost by the fourth hour), that’s just completely silly.

So… Any games that can be described as “Shorter Here We Stand”?

5152

That’s not silly. I’ve played games of Star Fleet Battles that lasted days. I’m sure ASL is the same way. If you’ve got time and space, does it matter that much?

— Alan

5153

I also love Labyrinth. One of my favorite two player games. I have No Retreat sitting in my closet, but I’ve never managed to get it to the table.

I don’t think that you will miss too much between HIS and Virgin Queen. If you enjoy Virgin Queen, you may want to go back and check out Here I Stand, which is certainly not replaced by Virgin Queen. The basic rules are the same, but there are some difference in Diplomacy and the religious game that give the two games a different feel.

As for timing, most of my full Here I Stand games have taken 8-10 hours. There is a shorter scenario that is also very good, which you can play in under 6. There is also a tournament scenario that plays in 3.5. There is not a ton of downtime, however, and the games get a little faster when you have a group that has some experience under their belt.

I’d still allow a full Saturday or Sunday for your first game. It is definitely worth it though, especially if you are joy the history.

5154

Get No Retreat on your table, man! It’s amazing! Does anyone play games like this online?

5155

Damn. I’ve played two games back to back in 11 hours.

Seven times (ahhhh, the glory days of Civ tournaments).

5156

Give Roborally a look, should fit your criteria pretty well. Keeping the maps small and using only three or four flags is always a good idea. If you find yourself with eight players, you might want to look into the team variants as a possible option.

5157

I also played a LOT of SFB in my days, but Federation & Empire was the game that took us 6 months to complete. Last night I looked at the Rise & Decline of the 3rd Reich sequels and a game called A World At War struck my fancy. The forum posts claim the rulebook is enormous and it’s a “lifetime game”. Those alone scared me away from it.

5158

Yeah I haven’t heard great things about it so…

Best version of Third Reich around these days is probably Totaler Krieg.

— Alan

5159

Nice! I’m going to hold off on creating the game for a week or two but I’m putting your name down for some QT3 Through the Ages. I saw a signup for the league over there so I was like “yeah sure I’ll play a couple of games”, not realizing that in the league you have to play four games and they all get created on the same day instead of one after another. So now I have five games happening. That should be awesome. Once one or two of them calm down I’ll make a new one.

Also! Other dudes, you are being super lame by not wanting to play Through the Ages, boardgamegeek’s fourth favorite game ever (that totally means something), with super cool guys me and Nate. Now is your time to think about it more and get psyched about, like, Aristotle and shit.

5160

Played a three player game of Last Will this evening. Got two thumbs up from everyone. It’s been awhile since I’ve played a Euro as thematically strong and amusing. I’ve played enough Euros with worker placement, role selection, creating little economic engines, etc., that they are beginning to lose their luster some. In Last Will, however, it’s fun creating an engine of economic destruction and the theme is quite strong.

Next up I want to play Manthattan Project and find out if placing workers to build atomic bombs is fun.