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Eclipse
1812: The Invasion of Canada
Ora et Labora
Descent 2e
Lords of Waterdeep

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I just played my first session with my new copy of Mage Knight ($65 on Amazon right now!) with a friend. It took us about four hours from setup to cleanup, but, well, the words “Fuck” and “yes” describe the experience admirably. And the knowledge that that was the game without cities, half the advanced actions, or elite units (and with barely touching core region encounters like tombs)…oh god. I love this game so much.

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Yeah, Mage Knight is a masterpiece and I respect it completely. Unfortunately I just find it a bit dry to play. It just seems that in all that great game design somebody forgot to toss in the fun/excitement.

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How good is Discworld: Ankh-Morpork for a mixture of people, some of whom have read the series (and who also happen to be intense board game players) and people who haven’t read the series but have dabbled in semi-complex board games and in fantasy/fantasy-comedy literature?

I’ll be spending seven days with family and friends of family in a vacation home environment, and am considering packing one board game into my luggage. I don’t own this one yet and I’m sure I’d like it, but I’m not sure yet how much the others might. The non-Disc-world / limited board game players will be motivated, but I’m not sure if their motivation levels will be sufficient.

Assuming that this game stands a much better chance than, say, Mage Knight which has also been on my list for picking up some day.

Edit: Le Havre is also on my list. (Most of these folks have been exposed to Carcassonne and Settlers of Catan but those games have probably been expended in this crowd.)

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I think Discworld: Ankh-Morpork is ideal for four people, no less or more. It’s a very good boardgame with simple rules even without having the Discworld connection, though, so that shouldn’t be a problem.
Mage Knight might be a bit too much to ask of people, but I might underestimate how readily people pick up that style of game.

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Everyone in my group just loves this game and I am the only one that read the books. It was a great opportunity to convince some of them to give the books a try.

If you’ll have access to Netflix, The Color of Magic and Hogfather are both available streaming. It would be a great motivator because the movies are fantastic.

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New games in the philosophist family:

[ul]
[li]Munchkin[/li][INDENT] Bought this after watching the Tabletop episode. Quick, light, and funny game that was easy to learn. The boys really got a kick out of some of the cards (particularly “Boots of Butt-Kicking”). Dad really enjoyed several of the cards that were lost on the boys (ie “Stoned Golem”). But not sure how much play we’ll get out of this. Somewhat bland gameplay, although easy to pick up and play. Might even convince Mom to play. [/INDENT]
[li]Descent, 2e[/li][INDENT] Spent nearly an hour in the game store looking at games and deciding which one to get. I actually fully intended to get Sid Meier’s Civilization: The Board Game, but somehow talked myself out of it. I don’t have any “4x” board games, and thought Civ would be a good intro to the genre for my boys (who love the PC game); also thought about Through the Ages, but the store didn’t have a copy in stock. First game of Descent was enjoyable, although like any game takes a bit of time to digest the rules. We really like that one person (me!) gets to be the Overlord. Overall, it feels a lot like Castle Ravenloft. Perhaps a better version of that, but similar nonetheless. Should have bought Civilization… [/INDENT]
[/ul]

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Anyone played Cards Against Humanity? It looks really fun as a kind of late-night, digestible closure to a gaming evening. I’ve been watching the guys over at Beer & Board Games, and they make it sound great.

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I’m also greatly enjoying Mage Knight, the boardgame. I just bought and learned it in mid-July but the past couple of weeks I’ve been setting it up at work and we’ve been playing four player full conquest scenarios over lunch and at different times during the day as people shuffle in and out of the game room. It’s a good way to play this long scenario at it allows people to look at he board and analyze their moves while others aren’t waiting. But I definitely wouldn’t recommend 4 player full conquest to people looking for a standard experience, as it’s about 8 hours.

In other news I just heard from GMT that Andean Abyss will be shipping out August 20-22. Quite excited about that one as well.

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Got to play Zombicide! last night, and I have to say, I think I found a game to finally replace Zombies! as my favorite survival game. We played scenario 01, City Blocks, with each of us controlling two characters. Both of mine were killed, but we won the scenario by finding rice, water, and canned food early, then clearing all the checkpoints in the map and escaping. Pacing of play is really great, and I felt involved even after my two characters died.

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How does it compare to last night on earth?
I’m kicking myself for not kickstarting it.

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I’ve not played LNOE, so I can’t say. Zombies!! had been my go to for Left 4 Dead survival gameplay up till now. I think Zombicide! will be entering my collection soon.

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GMT’s Andean Abyss starts shipping tomorrow.

— Alan

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(Copying my post from BF to here.)

I just placed my every-six-months-or-so-$100-or-higher order at CSI. I focused on well-received titles that expand games I already have and/or are easy to pick up and play (for the benefit of the other three players in my gaming group, as those types of games resonate with them).

7 Wonders: Cities Expansion

A must-buy, considering how much 7 Wonders: Leaders Expansion increased the enjoyment of the game for my group (and we loved the base game). The first expansion added a dash of additional strategy, so I’m expecting this second one will do likewise.

Citadels Card Game

It’s about time I bought this game, which has been on my wishlist forever. My group enjoys being cutthroat, so this one’s right up our alleys. We love Colossal Arena, so I’m sure this one will be a hit, as well.

Biblios

This one will earn me brownie points with my group that I can cash in at a later date when I try to convince them to learn more complex-to-them games like Chaos in the Old World and Eclipse. There’s a method to my madness. Plus, the game strikes me as one of those simple-to-learn games with a strategic punch behind it.

Infiltration

I’ve watched two reviews that raved about this game and one that trashed it. I decided to side with those that raved about it, since the one who trashed it is a tad out there. The mechanics appeal to me, as does the variable set-up (you never know which rooms and items are going to be in play). Plus, an FFG production of a Donald X. Vaccarino design equals expansions galore!

Castle Panic: The Wizard’s Tower Expansion

I’ve been waiting to purchase this before I open the base game, since my plan is to teach and play the base game with my group, and then spring the expansion on them so they can experience the added strategic depth right then and there with a second play. They’re gonna eat this game up with the expansion. Trust me.

Memoir 44 Board Game

The purpose of this game is to introduce my girlfriend to miniatures tactical battles. Why? Because the furthest progress I’ve made with Earth Reborn with her was me setting up the first scenario, her looking at that set-up and responding, “That looks really complicated,” and me then putting everything back in the box while my tears dripped onto the pieces. I hope my plan works, but, regardless, I’m looking forward to playing this with her.

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Mysterio from Wesley Chapel?? I live in New Tampa. Do you play with a gaming group in the area or just with some local friends? So this is just a link to a google group now but here: http://www.floridasuncoastgamers.com/

Those are the chaps I play with.

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I have just gotten past a, uh, low income event, and I haven’t bought a new boardgame since the first part of the year (might have been King of Tokyo and Eminent Domain?? Can it have been that long?). This is no small thing, considering I’ve got a collection of games in the 200s.

I’m considering a little catch-up purchase, but I kinda feel like I’ve been out of the loop on what’s really good. Partly this is because there are just so many games coming out! Kickstarter isn’t helping!

So what are the recommendations for 2012 games I shouldn’t miss? My tastes and the tastes of my fellow gamers lean in the following directions:

More Euro than Ameritrash
Games under 90min (longer and they never make it to the table)
Inexpensive (cheaper games = more games)

Favorite games: Kingsburg, Endeavor, Eminent Domain, Pandemic.

What have I missed the last six months?

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I really like Lords of Waterdeep. It’s a pretty fun little worker placement game, but if you like heavy Euro games you might find it a bit simplistic.

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Anyone have much to say about either D&D Dungeon Command or Descent 2? I have Descent 1, but the games were just too long and I am not sure I could get a group of more than 2 or 3 regularly.

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I played the Descent 2e at the FLGS during the demo weekend. I thought it was OK, but a bit simplistic for my tastes. we were able to play a scenario in about 40 min though, so it’s not a super long game. The production values are amazing though, and I suspect a certain young gentleman might really like it if he is old enough. Lots of rolling dice and killing baddies (plus the overlord can dictate the difficulty to tailor the experience).

As for Dungeon Command it looks a lot like a Dust Tactics sort of boardgame/minigame mash-up. Looks pretty tactical actually, but I haven’t played it so I can’t say for sure.

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Chaplin – Some folks played Descent 2 at my monthly game night. And I was totally skeptical that it could be played in even half the time of Descent 1. But, by golly, they played a two-map scenario in less than 3 hours. This was with more new players than not. It is really overhauled and it looks like they did a great job trimming it down. I was very impressed.